Travelin' Soldier
by nevershoutallison
Summary: Finn joined the Army because he really had nothing to lose. Now less than a week before his second deployment, he finds every reason in the world to stay. AU Finchel.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note - Please Read: **

**This is the story that I have published in a long, long time. I lost my muse for any kind of writing about three years ago and this idea came to me and I'm going to attempt to maybe start something up again. This is a preview of sorts, I suppose. Please, please take the time and read and review for this so I know if it's worth continuing with and publishing on here. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or the song Travelin' Soldier by the Dixie Chicks, which this story is very, very loosely based upon. **

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Travelin' Soldier

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The city was always fascinating to him when he visited. There was a constant aura of excitement flowing through the air. People were everywhere, yet there was still a tranquil feeling that could be found if searched for. The club scene wasn't too bad either if you went to the right place.

Now Finn wasn't much of a partier. Not at all, really. But occasionally he would tag along with some of the guys in his unit when he started to get a little bit of cabin fever in the barracks on base – one of the very few downfalls of being a single soldier. There were also numerous times that he would be dragged out by his very gay and very diva-like brother who lived in the city and got Finn to visit whenever he could now that they lived in the same state again.

Finn had called Kurt almost six months ago and told him he received his PCS orders to Fort Hamilton. Initially the more flamboyant of the two had no response before a confused and bored, "what?" was muttered from the other end of the phone. Finn had rolled his eyes and sighed. "The Army is moving me to the base in Brooklyn, bro." Finn's eardrum was nearly burst with his brothers excited scream. The step-siblings hadn't lived near each other since high school, and Kurt was over joyed that they could spend more time together.

Much to his dismay, the Army kept Finn much busier than what Kurt had expected. At 24, Finn was proud of all that he accomplished. He had joined the Army initially for two reasons – his father had been in the Army when he died, and there was absolutely no other way for Finn to pay for college. He wasn't putting that responsibility on his mother and step dad. Much to both their dismay, Finn joined up. He went to Georgia State and got his degree in Music Education, got ranked up to Sergeant and now he was paying back the four years he owed. He loved almost every minute of it. He didn't even mind getting deployed.

He was deployed to Afghanistan the first time two years ago. In the 8 months that he was there, the young soldier grew up more than he had his entire 22 years of living. He saw things he wished he never saw and did things he wished he never had to. But it was his job – and he was compelled to continue with it. Aside from his parents and his brother, he really had nothing to lose. That was why he wasn't bothered by the fact that he was deploying overseas again in just a few short days.

That was part of his reason for being in the city tonight. It was sort of a last hurrah for the boys in his unit before they shipped out on Thursday, and drinks were flowing freely among the guys and the friends that had come along. Finn was at the bar getting a refill of his own and was grateful for the cold bottle in his hands.

"What the hell does a girl have to do to get a damn beer around here? Just because I'm not drinking a cosmo doesn't mean I should have to wait this long. I have rights you know!" The bottle paused at his lips before lowering back down to the counter. He turned his head to the side and couldn't help the quiet laugh that shook his chest. Just two stools over was a fired up dark-haired Latina woman. He laughed out loud when she groaned and pounded her fist on the counter while simultaneously stomping her heel encased foot.

Her head whipped toward him and her narrowing eyes glared. There was a fire in her eyes that Finn couldn't help but appreciate. "Something funny, Sasquatch?" He laughed again at the quick quip before shaking his head. He slid his drink toward her.

"I think you may appreciate this more than I do."

Her eyes lit up and her lips settled into a smirk before grabbing the chilled bottle. She tipped it toward him in gratitude before leaning over the bar and waving it toward the bartender. "Hey, yeah, you! Your customers are doing a better job than you are!" The man glared at her and she sneered right back. She turned on her heel, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I'm going to get my dance on." She announced. Her long hair swayed as she walked away. Finn chuckled to himself and stood up. Since he wasn't getting his drink, he might as well go back with his buddies.

A soft voice halted him.

"You're only encouraging her you know."

The source of the voice was a stunning woman that Finn hadn't noticed before. Looking at her now, he had no idea how. She was truly a site to be seen. Luscious brunette locks flowed in waves down her back. Her slim body was encased by a lacy charcoal colored dress that had ridden up due to her seated position with her legs crossed, revealing toned thighs that connected to legs that seemed to go on for miles. Her facial features were soft, yet sharp and defined. She turned her neck just the slightest bit for the shortest of moments and Finn caught site of her chocolate colored iris'.

She was stunning.

"Friend of yours?" It was hard to find his voice and Finn hoped not too much time had passed.

The wonder to his left made a sound of acknowledgement and raised the glass in her hand. Her emerald green fingernails contrasted against her skin, and Finn couldn't help but follow the glass as it went to and from her glossy pink lips.

"She tends to get a little carried away when we come out sometimes. Though luckily I have it down to almost a science of getting her in a cab and through the front door once we arrive home." She gave him a warm, small smile to show she wasn't actually upset. The tall, trained to fight and kill soldier felt his heart flutter at the notion. He sat down in the stool beside her that her friend had previously been occupying.

"Sorry for any inconvenience."

She shrugged her shoulder and waved away his apology. Finn couldn't help but admire the confidence that seemed to radiate off of her in waves. His eyes followed the glass to her lips again as she finished off the rest of the clear liquid. There was something about the simple task that entranced him. "So you two are roommates?" Finn needed to keep the conversation with this woman going, or else he would be cursing himself over it for days.

"That we are." She answered simply, and Finn momentarily deflated at her cut-to-the-chase response. His spirits brightened almost instantly when she continued on. "We've known each other since high school and have roomed together since she moved here three years ago."

"Best friend, then?"

The beauty chuckled, shaking her head slightly before smiling at him. "Amazingly, more like my sister." He cocked to his head to the side in confusion. "We didn't get along so well prior to senior year in high school. Like…at all." She giggled softly. Finn wanted to hear the sound again.

"What changed?" He inquired. She looked thoughtful for a moment.

"We learned that we weren't as different as we always thought we were." She answered simply. Finn nodded in response. He watched her for a moment, drinking her in. She was dragging her finger along the rim of her cup and had a content grin on her face. Finn could easily guess that she was thinking back on the friendship with the fiery Hispanic. She surprised him when she broke the silence and fixed her gaze on him. "So are you going to share your name or are we just going to continue talking without knowing how to identify the other?"

"Who said I wanted to keep talking to you?" He responded playfully, and a giggle escaped her lips before holding up her two hands in front of her in a sign of surrender.

"My apologies then." She laughed, standing to walk away. Finn grabbed the hand that wasn't holding her black shimmery clutch. She glanced at their touching body parts before looking him in the eyes. While he was still sitting down and she standing, they were at near perfect eye level with one another.

"My name is Finn," He spoke with a smile in his voice, "and I would love to know your name."

She tugged her lip between her sparkling white teeth. "Rachel. My name is Rachel."

"It's wonderful to meet you Rachel." He gestured toward the seat she was just occupying, his hand still holding hers. "And if you didn't mind, I would love for you to sit and talk with me for awhile."

She squeezed his hand before releasing it, gracefully placing herself back on the barstool beside him.

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**I'm really rusty with my writing, but this was the first chapter. Please let me know what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you for those of you that responded to the first chapter, and I hope chapter two isn't too rushed for you in certain departments. However, I have a plan for this story so every scene is crucial to the development. Read and review, please!**

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Travelin' Soldier - Two

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"And then there was this awful screeching sound and the next thing I know, the whole thing is blowing up!" Rachel threw her head back and clapped her hands together as she laughed. Finn didn't even know how long they had been sitting there. They had started talking and conversation flowed so freely between the two of them. Neither could remember the last time they enjoyed themselves this much.

"How do you mess up boiling water?!" Rachel gasped out, holding her stomach as she laughed.

"You put a metal pot in the microwave! So moral of the story," Finn chuckled, "is never, ever, EVER, let Noah Puckerman be the one to start on dinner."

"I hope he learned his lesson after that one." Rachel's laughter had turned into a light giggle, and she shook her head at the visual as she took a small sip from the drink the tall, good-looking guy that had been pleasantly occupying her time had bought for her. "He sounds incredibly entertaining." She added thoughtfully. She watched as Finn nodded.

"Yeah, sometimes annoyingly so." Finn agreed with a laugh. He took another drink from his beer bottle, eyeing the brunette sitting with him. It was amazing how attractive she was. Finn didn't believe in love at first sight – in fact, every time he heard of a case of it he couldn't help but roll his eyes. But there was something about this girl that made him question everything he had ever believed in. He felt so drawn to her, and he had an inkling to believe that it was more than just lust. But love? He didn't think it was possible.

Rachel was thinking much the same thing. She felt such an immense attraction toward this man. It wasn't anything she has ever felt before. She wasn't promiscuous by any means, nor was she daring and she had never hooked up with someone that she met in a bar before. But something about this situation was so, so much different. She watched him closely as she contemplated her next move. She wanted to throw caution to the wind and just go with it.

"Finn?" He looked at her, and she took a deep breath, "if I asked you to come somewhere alone with me, what would you say?"

Without skipping a beat, Finn responded. "I would say we could never get there fast enough."

Her face lit up for a moment before a devilish look appeared. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted before she could.

"There you are! I've been looking for you for like an hour!" Finn turned at the voice at the same time that Rachel looked down at the silver watch on her wrist.

"I-sorry, I lost track of time." Kurt held a level of slight annoyance in his eyes and merely glanced over at Rachel. He paused before doing a double take and Finn was amused at just how wide his step-brother's eyes got. He didn't know that was possible.

"You're Rachel Berry."

The girl in question tilted her head to the side with a smile gracing her features. Finn couldn't help the grin that pulled at his lips at the sight.

"I am," Rachel held out her hand and Kurt looked down at it like he wasn't sure what to do, the same wide eyed expression on his face, "and you are..?"

Kurt snapped out of his trance at Rachel's expectant tone, shaking his head quickly and shaking her hand at an almost comical speed. "Kurt. My name is Kurt. Kurt Hummel. It is so good to meet you!" Kurt gushed, and Finn laughed. The sound finally got Kurt's attention and he looked back and forth between the two. "Finn, do you have any idea who this is?"

"This is Rachel." Finn chuckled, tipping his drink toward the girl and adding a wink for good effect. His heart fluttered at the blush that crept up on her cheeks.

"I-of course it's Rachel. But this is Rachel _Berry_." Kurt exclaimed, his hands flying up in emphasis.

"You two know each other?" Finn was highly amused at the rarity of a blush that covered Kurt's face and the stutter he held in his voice.

"I-I mean-not personally, of course – though that would be amazing – I mean, um, Rachel is on Broadway! In Wicked! You should know that's one of my favorite musicals. Do you not listen when we talk? I just went to see it last month, you declined my invitation to come, remember? And now you're sitting here talking to Elphaba."

"Elphaba?"

The annoyed look came back on Kurt's face and slightly exasperated he responded, "The lead roll, Finn. Elphaba is the lead roll in Wicked."

"Oh," He replied, turning his eyes back to the stunning creature in the dark gray dress. "You didn't tell me you were a lead."

"Didn't think that it mattered." Rachel shrugged her shoulders innocently. The tug of her lip between her teeth, however, was causing anything but innocent thoughts to enter into Finn's mind. He smirked back at her.

"Wait, how do you two know each other?" Kurt was confused, and Finn suddenly really wanted him to go away.

"We just met tonight. How do you two-"

"He's my step brother."

"Ah," Rachel nodded, "Finn has told me a lot about you Kurt. It's nice to meet you."

"And it is so incredibly nice to meet you. You know I must say that you do a fabulous job as Elphaba. You pull off that hideous green color incredibly well and that voice, my goodness!" Finn loved the smile that overtook Rachel's face, and he wished that he caused it instead of Kurt's gushing.

"Well thank you. That means so much!" Rachel put her hands over her heart in appreciation, truly thankful for the compliments. She caught Finn's eye from the corner of hers and immediately took notice to the slightly irritated look on his face. She didn't know why, but she wanted to make it go away.

"Oh!" Kurt exclaimed, "you must meet my boyfriend! He would absolutely love-"

"Actually, Kurt," Rachel began, and looked straight at Finn as she spoke, "Finn and I were actually about to get out of here." Finn's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "How about I set you up with tickets to my performance tomorrow night? You and your boyfriend can come backstage and I'd be more than happy to meet him."

"I-are you serious?" Rachel nodded, still looking at Finn intensely. "Omgosh, that would be FANTASTIC! Let me just give you my contact inf-"

"I'll make sure she gets it, Kurt." His eyes never left Rachel's as he spoke.

Kurt opened his mouth to protest before understanding dawned over him. "O-oh! Well then. Yeah, yeah, make sure she gets it. I'll-"

"Bye Kurt." Finn's voice was final, a hint of the tone he uses with his unit seeping in. Rachel felt her breathing getting shallow and paid no mind to Kurt chuckling lightly to himself as he backed away from the duo. "You really wanna get out of here?"

"I don't live too far from here."

"What about your roommate?"

Rachel stood up then. She pulled her dress down to maintain her modesty and held out her hand to him. "I'm sure she can fend for herself for tonight."

With that being said, Finn wasted no time in pulling a few bills from his wallet and throwing them on the bar to pay for the drinks they'd had while sitting and talking. He grabbed her hand and let her lead him to wherever she chose. At this point, he thinks he would follow her anywhere.

Those thoughts were how he ended up in the backseat of a Taxi with his lips attached to those of the most beautiful woman he had ever had the pleasure of meeting. Their kisses were rough, but passionate, and held something that neither one of them could explain. The driver kept glancing back at the couple, shifting uncomfortably and continuously clearing his throat. Neither Finn nor Rachel could bring himself or herself to care. They wanted each other. He threw money toward the front seat as the cab came to a stop outside an apartment building and pulled Rachel out behind him.

A few other patrons occupied the elevator and they giggled together, the sexual anticipation between them thick, her holding onto his arm with both of hers until she pulled him out on the fifth floor. The hallway was empty and she dug around in her clutch for her keys. Finn couldn't resist placing opened mouth kisses along her neck as he gripped her hips. She gasped as he bit down on the skin suddenly, arching her back and dropping her keys. She spun around quickly and pulled him as close as possible as she reattached their lips. Her back slammed against her still locked apartment door.

"Oh," She gasped as his lips trailed down to her neck again. She couldn't stop herself as she let her head fall to the side to allow him better access, "we're never going to get inside if we don't stop."

His only response was a murmured "okay" as his hands trailed from her hips to her backside, squeezing the dress covered flesh in his hands. She nearly let him push the material of her dress up when a door opened two doors down across the hallway. He paused his ministrations on her neck and groaned quietly. He let his chin rise to rest on the top of her head. Both their breathing was labored and uneven.

"Well, well, if this isn't majorly inappropriate I'm not sure what is." Rachel took a deep breath at the snarky voice of the one neighbor she really couldn't stand. She'd known him since college, but Brody was a tool more times than not and now was not the time that she wanted to spend standing in the hallway and arguing with him. Not when she could be taking part in much, much better activities.

"Not now." She gritted out, pushing Finn away just the slightest bit so she could grab her keys from where she had dropped them on the floor. He took notice of the tense tone in her voice and peered over his shoulder at the man who had interrupted them. He was a man of average height that was probably their age. A cocky smirk adorned his ken-doll like features as he leant against his doorframe. What bothered the soldier the most, however, was the way his eyes trailed over Rachel's figure when she stood back up. He heard the door opening and, as Rachel grabbed onto his bicep to pull him in, he made a mental note to ask about it later.

There was no way in hell he was going to waste time on such a conversation now.

He hoisted her small body up his own and loved the way she felt as she wrapped her legs around his waist and gripped onto his hair. He swallowed the moan she let out when he slammed her against the wall next to the door. She started grinding her lower half against his, desperate for friction.

"Bedroom?" He groaned out, which turned into a whine when she slithered down his body to stand on her feet again. She grabbed onto his hand and just a few moments later was turning on the dim floor lamp in her bedroom. He would look around later. Right now the only thing he could focus on was the beauty before him. Her makeup was slightly smeared and her breathing was heavy. Her eyes were hooded and her hair slightly wild.

"You're beautiful." The blush that arose on Rachel's cheeks was almost comical. Finn moved toward her slowly, running his hand down her arm to intertwine his fingers with hers. He rose their hands up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles lightly. "Do you really want to do this?" The gentlemen in him had to ask or else he'd regret it later. "If you want to stop we need to stop right now. Or else I won't be able to." He admitted. Rachel looked up at him and then to their clasped hands. She took a step away from him and his heart clenched painfully, not to mention other parts of him that were desperate for her.

She became about four inches shorter after she slipped her heels off. Their eyes stayed locked and she reached behind her and tugged at her dress zipper. She slipped the straps off her shoulders and stepped away when the fabric pooled on her hardwood floors. She was magnificent standing before him in her lacy black bra and panty set. The dressy dark jeans he was wearing were unbelievably tight. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders and it hit the floor. Rachel pressed herself tight against him and looked up at him, a smoldering look on her face. She stepped on her tiptoes and pulled his head down. Right before she pressed her lips to his, she whispered the best thing he'd heard all night, "I want you, Finn. Please."

Finn didn't waste a second before he lifted Rachel up by the backs of her thighs. She stared down into his eyes as he carried her over to her bed where he laid her down gently against the pillows. He stood at the end of the bed as he stripped himself of his remaining clothes. Rachel watched him with desire as she shimmied her way out of her undergarments.

She was always so much more modest than this. She didn't know what was coming over her, but she also welcomed it with open arms if it meant being with this glorious man that had just crawled on top of her. They were completely skin on skin. Rachel raked her nails down his back, losing herself in his eyes. "Touch me, Finn."

"Okay." He gave her a lopsided grin that had her swooning and kissed her again. Her short nails scratching along his skin was sending him into a slight frenzy. The pads of his fingers didn't leave her skin as they trailed from her hairline down her face, neck, and in-between the valley of her breasts. She could feel her body pulsating as his calloused fingers made it to her naval and she let out a strangled cry when he didn't even pause before rubbing over her clit. _"Finn!"_

They had hardly done anything yet and she was already moaning his name like that. Finn couldn't wait to hear what she would sound like as things got more intense. She was a singer, right? He was going to test those vocal abilities of hers tonight.

He kissed her neck more, sucking and nibbling at random and Rachel knew she was going to have a mark when he was done. She couldn't bring herself to care. He slid a single finger through her wet folds and she whimpered. There was an abnormal amount of tension building up in her small body. At this point he was the only person that could relieve her of it. "Please," she begged shamelessly.

It was like a snap of a rubber band that his pace changed. Two fingers entered her swiftly and he didn't dare cover her lips with his to cancel out her cries. They were music to his ears and he wanted to press repeat and listen to it for as long as he could. "You like that, huh?" He wasn't normally a talker during intercourse. It was awkward and forced. But with Rachel he found himself wanting to tell her everything that he was feeling.

"A-ahuh. _God_."

"You feel so tight." The nails of her left hand dug into the skin on his back as he began to enter a third finger into her. That slow hesitance he planned to do to accommodate her turned into a rough push of shock as he felt her right hand grip his stiff erection. Her back arched at the quick intrusion and she moaned again.

"Fuck, Rachel, Jesus!" Finn groaned as she began to meet the rhythm of his fingers with that of her own. She squeezed him and Finn almost lost it. He pulled his fingers from her body regretfully and she whined in protest until she realized what he was doing. He had pulled her hand away from his and intertwined their fingers as he lay on top of her, his weight supported by his forearms.

"You, are so, _fucking_ beautiful." He swore, bruising her lips with his. She moaned into his mouth and gripped his backside with her free hand, pushing his body until it lay flush against his. "I need-"

"I'm on the pill. I want to feel you, Finn, _please_."

He would always still take precautions when he heard this. But nothing about tonight was typical of him and he wasn't going to start now. Not when she was begging him to take her, bareback at that. He hardly knew this girl and he was throwing caution to the wind.

He hissed as he slid inside of her tight, wet heat. She had him in a vice grip as he pulled back out and pushed in at the same, slow pace.

"You're so tight." He gritted out between clenched teeth. "So warm." He added, "so god damn wet. Rachel."

"M-more." Rachel gasped. She threw her head back against her pillows in pure bliss. She had never felt so full before, yet she felt like she couldn't get enough of him. His pace picked up slowly at first, and then drastically. Her loud moans of pleasure accented the slapping of his skin against hers as he began to pound into her quickly.

"Look at me, Rachel." Her eyes were closed tight in pleasure as he stared at her face. Rachel's eyes opened slowly. A loud moan escaped her as the moment got more and more intense. "I want to see you fall apart. How you react to what I'm doing to you." Her eyes started to flutter closed again and he slammed his hips hard into hers. "Look at me." Finn commanded roughly.

Her eyes locked on his, almost black with desire. Her orgasm was so, so close. And she knew he would fall apart not soon after her. "I want you to come for me." She nodded frantically, grasping at his arms as she moaned. How had she gone so long without a lover like him? He was making her feel more amazing then she could have ever even fantasized. A scream of pleasure tore from her throat as his fingers pressed down on her clit. _"Finn!" _

He grunted her name loudly in response as he felt her walls clench around his shaft in the most painfully pleasure way possible. He pulled out of her almost entirely before slamming back into her. Another scream left her throat and he felt himself begin to empty into her. He slowed his pace but didn't dare leave her body. His lips found hers and the kiss they shared was full of passion. Her tongue against his was warm and inviting and he wished he could kiss her like this forever.

Air became an issue and he pulled away just the slightest bit. He had stopped thrusting into her by now, both of them coming down from one of the most intense orgasms they had ever experienced. A few moments passed. The only sounds in the room was the heavy breathing they shared.

"Rachel." Finn whispered hoarsely, cupping her face as he let his weight drop onto her just the slightest bit. "I think I could love you one day." He spoke honestly when her dark eyes met his. She should have been freaked out by the words and he should have been freaked out by him saying them. But instead all she could do was give him a small, warm smile and bring his lips down to meet hers as she rotated her hips just the slightest bit. He felt himself getting worked up again and decided that now wasn't the time for talking. Now was the time to bring this beautiful girl underneath him to the heights of pleasure she had never even known existed before.

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**Please let me know your thoughts! All the writers know on here just how precious and motivating reviews are. It really does help the writing process knowing that people want to read more. **

**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thanks for all those who are reviewing. It means a lot. **

**Disclaimer: I don't take ownership of Glee, Wicked, or the United States Army, obviously. **

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_Travelin' Soldier - Three_

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"When did you decide that you wanted to be on Broadway?" Finn asked softly. His fingers were steadily running through her thick hair as she drew invisible patterns on the arm that was draped over her torso. Her head was resting on his stomach as she lay perpendicular to him across her bed. Both of their bodies were tangled in her silky sheets.

"My dads said that I've been singing since I could talk." She smiled fondly, resting comfortably against him. "But Broadway specifically? As long as I could remember; I've never wanted to do anything else." She brought his hand to her lips and kissed his skin softly before letting his arm fall back to it's resting place across her sheet-covered midriff.

"I wanna hear you sing."

"While I usually never pass up an opportunity to wow somebody with my award worthy voice," Rachel said completely seriously, "I have two shows tomorrow and wasn't anticipating using my vocal chords so much tonight."

Finn threw his head back into the pillows as a deep laugh shook his tall, built frame. "Well if your singing voice sounds half as good as your screams do, I already know you're amazing."

Rachel could feel the blush heating up her face and she rolled onto her side to look at him. She bit her lip as she contemplated what it was that she wanted to say. She lost track of the amount of times he brought her to her peak in the last few hours. She had just met him not twelve hours ago and he made her feel beautiful, loved and cherished. What was she to say to that? She took a deep, calming breath like she does right before she goes on stage every night. "I want you to know that this isn't typical of me." Her voice was small and he lifted his head to meet her eyes with confusion masking his features.

"What do you mean?"

"I've never just hooked up with a guy that I met in a bar. Heck, I've never hooked up with a guy within the first week of meeting him, let alone the first night. I just…I don't want you to think this is a normal occurrence for me."

Finn let his head fall back on the pillows and closed his eyes in pure contentment. "Even if it was, and I believe you when you say it's not, I feel a connection with you, Rach." He felt her head lift from his stomach and felt her body shift on the bed. He cracked open one eye to see her resting on her knees facing him. "Believe it or not, I've never hooked up with a girl the first night I met her either. But you're different."

"How?" She whispered. He was amazed at how shy she was being.

"I don't know." Finn responded honestly. It was quiet for a moment. Finn turned his gaze to hold hers again. "But I know that I've never felt this way. And I know I want to see you again. I told you that I think I could love you one day, Rachel, and I meant it. I know we just met but, I don't know, I can't explain this pull I feel toward you."

She bit her lip as the emotions played all over Finn's face. He looked frustrated like he couldn't find the right words to say. She found herself wanting to reassure him. Honestly, what he said is exactly what she needed to hear.

She shifted her body on the bed again, moving to lie down beside him so their faces were almost touching. She kissed his lips softly one, two, three times before brushing her nose against his. "That sounds really, really good to me."

"Yeah?" He asked in a whisper and kissed her again when she murmured it back to him in a positive response. He cupped her cheek in his large hand and moved so his body was covering hers. Finn swallowed Rachel's moans with his kisses as he worshiped her body and fueled this strange but alluring fire that was ignited between the two.

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"You'll be at my show tonight?" Rachel asked, running her hands up and down Finn's toned arms as they stood in the doorway of her apartment. His arms were wrapped around her and he stared down at her with a certain admiration in his eyes.

"Of course," He nodded, and laughed softly as an afterthought hit him, "I think Kurt might kill me if I don't, especially since I stupidly declined him last month."

"Can't believe you did that." She muttered playfully.

"Mmm, me either." He whispered as he leant down and kissed her softly. No sooner had his tongue began tracing her smooth lips did a door in the apartment open and a painful groan could be heard before another door slammed shut. His eyebrows furrowed together as he pulled away and stood straight up, his fighter instincts creeping up on him.

"Hmm, I didn't hear Santana come in last night." Rachel mused to herself before a devilish grin took over. "Then again, I wasn't paying much attention to the outside world, now was I?"

Finn gave her his signature lopsided grin as he kissed her lips again.

"There'll be tickets waiting for you up front. Are you sure you only need three?" Rachel questioned once he pulled away. He nodded, reassuring her that that was what he needed. "And you'll come backstage afterward?" He nodded again and cocked his head to the side in question when Rachel bit her lip, looking like she wanted to say something else.

"What is it?"

"There's this place not too far from the Gershwin that my costars and I go to sometimes after the show…I thought you and I could maybe go for a late dinner?" She looked up at him through her thick eyelashes. Finn leaned down and kissed her forehead affectionately.

"I can't wait."

The smile she sent him was radiant and she pecked his lips again quickly. "I guess I'll see you tonight then."

"Yes you will. Break a leg at your Matinee show."

"Have fun being interrogated by your step brother." She responded back. He laughed softly, shaking his head and resisting the urge to kiss her again because he knew he wouldn't want to walk away from her. "See you tonight."

"See you tonight." He winked at her and squeezed her hands before letting them drop and backing out of her door. He waited for her to shut the door before turning to leave. He paused when he noticed the same guy from last night standing in front of his apartment door, his arms crossed over his chest. Finn took notice of the messenger bag hanging off his shoulder and his rigid posture. Finn nodded stiffly. "Problem, man?"

The dark haired man across the hall shook his head, his lips pressed together tightly in frustration as he adjusted the bag he had. Finn watched as he shook his head and sighed loudly, opening the door with the set of keys in his hand. He paused before walking in. He glancing, or more like glared, at Finn for a second over his shoulder and Finn thought he would speak. But he didn't. He just shook his head again before walking in and slamming the apartment door behind him.

Finns eyebrows furrowed together tightly. He didn't know the guy, but his gut – the same gut that had saved his ass in combat on more than one occasion – was screaming at him that there was something off about him.

* * *

"You okay Tana?" Rachel asked quietly, opening the bathroom door and leaning against it. The Latina in question was laying on the cold tile of the bathroom floor. She groaned and held out her hand wordlessly. Rachel pushed away from the door and grabbed the outstretched limb and pulled her up slightly before plopping down beside her She ran her hands through Santana's dark, slightly matted hair when she laid her head onto her lap. "What time did you get in?"

"Around 3:30."

"Tana," Rachel admonished gently.

"Never again." Santana groaned out. Rachel laughed quietly, shaking her head and continuing running her fingers through Santana's hair. "Were you talking to someone?" She asked a few minutes later, her stomach no longer churning and her headache easing When Rachel didn't respond she cast a glance up at her roommate, only to find her with a glint in her eye and a silly grin etched across her face.

"Holy shit!" Santana swore, shooting up into a sitting position. She only regretted it for a moment as a sharp pain shot through her head. She pointed an accusing finger at the brunette. "You totally had sex!" When Rachel just smiled and blushed, Santana's eyes grew wider. "Oh my God! Rachel, you slut!" She hit the girl playfully, smiking in her typical fashion. "And you let him spend the night?"

"We didn't do a whole lot of sleeping." Rachel admitted with a blush.

"What's his name?"

"Well you called him 'Sasquatch' but his name is Finn."

"The guy who gave me his drink?" Rachel nodded, biting her lip to contain her ever-growing smile. "Well I'll be damned." A moment of silence passed as Rachel continued to smile and Santana stewed in her disbelief, Santana gave a small smirk and wiggle of her eyebrows. "Was he good?"

Rachel laughed and rolled her eyes as she stood up. She held her hands out to her roommate who was still seated against the tub. "Let's go get breakfast and I'll tell you all about it."

* * *

"It's about time!"

Finn jumped slightly, having not expected such a loud greeting when he walked into his step-brother's loft style apartment. "Well good morning to you too, Kurt."

"On no, you don't get to do that."

"Do what?" Finn asked confused.

"Act all innocent. Were you with Rachel all night?" Kurt demanded, and Finn rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, and before you ask," Finn continued, noticing Kurt's anxious look and parting lips preparing to speak, "there's tickets waiting with your and Blaine's names on them." He gave a satisfied nod and trailed after Finn into the kitchen.

"So is that all I'm getting?"

"What more do you want? You're getting tickets right near the front and you get to go backstage."

That impatient look Kurt often got in conversations between the two of them crept up onto his features. "You're not going to tell me how hooking up with Rachel Berry went? Where'd you go? What's she really like? Are you going to see her again?"

"I'm going to the play tonight, too."

"And?" Kurt asked, waving his hands around expectantly.

"And what?" Finn just received an exasperated look in return. He sighed as he pulled the milk out of the fridge. He got a soft smile on his face that Kurt hadn't bared witness to in a long time as he faced him. "It's hard to explain, Kurt. But I feel drawn to her, you know? I want to know her on every level. I just met her but I really like her, bro. It's strange."

The bubble of contentment and happiness that the solider had been encased in for the last twelve hours drastically popped with the next words that slipped out of Kurt's mouth.

"But you're leaving for Iraq on Thursday, Finn." He stopped pouring his cereal as the color drained from his face. "Oh tell me that you told her." Finn was silent. "Finn!"

"I-I didn't even think about it. Like, I forgot, man! Son of a bitch." He plopped down on the barstool, running his hand over his face and through his short hair. "I was so caught up in just being with her and it completely slipped my mind."

Kurt felt sympathy toward him; he had never seen his brother like this before since they met when they were sixteen. "If you really like her, you can make it work."

"I'm gonna be gone for almost a year."

"So? Love is love."

"I don't even know if love is what this is, bro."

"I'm sure if whatever you're feeling is sincere then that's what it could turn into. It'll be like Catfish with a really good ending." Finn just looked at him, and Kurt got that impatient look again. "Never mind. You should talk to her about it and then go from there. You won't know anything until you see what she's feeling too. And I guess just make the best of today since you elected not to take the week off for pre-whatever, r, whatever, since my dad and your mom couldn't make it up to New York and you can't leave the state."

"Pre-deployment rest and relaxation."

"You're acting like I care what it's technical term is, Finn."

He sat there for a minute, thinking through everything. He really only had two options here – he could either take Kurt's advice and make the most of the time he had left, or he could stop things before they even started. But that's the thing – things were way past started and he didn't know if he could just forget about what had already transpired between the two and the feelings that were already coursing through him. He stood up suddenly, knowing what he had to do. He grabbed his phone and wallet that he had deposited onto the kitchen island last night before going to the club they had been in.

"Um, where are you going?"

"I'll be back later!" He slipped his shoes back on before opening the door and running out. He had to be as quick as possible if he was going to get everything that he needed to get done, done, before the show started tonight.

* * *

**Drop a review for me! Thanks! **

**xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Here's the fourth chapter! Hope everyone likes it. I would really, really love for some more reviews. It's kind of discouraging seeing that there's so many reads for this story but so little reviews. Please take the time and say a few words at the end of the chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I don't take ownership of anything unless stated otherwise **

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Four _

* * *

"Why are you so jittery tonight?" Rachel glanced up from her position on the makeup chair in her dressing room, meeting raised eyebrows and questioning eyes in the mirror.

"I'm not jittery."

Jesse St. James rolled his eyes, standing up from the couch in her dressing room and walking up to stand directly behind her and rest his hands on her shoulders as he held her gaze in the mirror in front of them.

"I haven't seen you this nervous since opening night of Beauty and the Beast when you were just a sophomore at NYADA." He smirked; he squeezed her shoulders gently as he brought up the first off-Broadway play she ever performed in. "What's going on, Raybear?"

She sighed, picking at a spot of flaking green paint that hadn't come off in the shower that covered her hands from the matinee showing – it would be reapplied soon enough. "There's going to be somebody in the audience tonight."

"There's always somebody in the audience. We wouldn't have jobs if there wasn't."

She titled her head at him, her glare making him laugh. He squeezed her shoulders again before walking in front of her, leaning against her vanity to face her. "Who's the lucky guy, and why are you letting him make you so nervous?"

She looked at him quizzically, her eyes slightly wide. "How did you know?"

"C'mon Rachel, this is me we're talking about." He was right, Rachel thought. She had known Jesse St. James since her sophomore year in high school. After their brief attempt at dating, they had become really close friends, even if they clashed and disagreed with the other daily. He was one of the only people that understood her passion and her drive, because he shared it. He had the same ambitions as her – to become a star on one of the most popular streets in the country. He moved from the suburb they grew up in to New York City when he graduated to attend NYU as a Theater major, and Rachel joined him a year later to attend NYADA. They had been through the lowest and highest moments of their careers together, and this was the third time they were cast in the same musical at the same time. He was cast as Fiyero two months ago, and Rachel had never been more comfortable on a stage. They were two of the youngest leads on the strip, him at 25 and her at 24, but they had proven themselves and their abilities in more than one way.

"His name is Finn."

"And why haven't I heard about this Finn before?"

Rachel took a breath, bracing herself for Jesse's reaction. "Because I just met him last night." It was quiet for a moment, and Rachel peaked an eye open to look at him. He just stared at her. "Well. Say something." She encouraged. Jesse had always been extremely opinionated and his silence was unnerving.

"You invited him to a show already?" Rachel nodded slowly, resisting the urge to chew on her nails. "Must be a pretty special guy then." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"He is, I think. I feel connected to him. Like...I could trust him with anything." She revealed, smiling softly as she thought back on last night and this morning. The way Finn had made her feel still amazed her. "Anyway," she waved off, feeling the blush start forming on her cheeks and wanting to avoid details as Luca, her makeup artist, came in to start prepping her for the evening show, "his brother really enjoys Broadway, so I got him and his boyfriend tickets for tonight and Finn is going to come with him."

Jesse nodded in response, satisfied with her answer for now. "You know you're gonna tell me everything later, right?" He whispered to her as he leaned down to drop a kiss to her hair. He winked at her as she blushed. "I'm gonna go get changed. See you in a few." He made his way to the door, chuckling softly at Rachel's sound of protest as the cold green paint came in contact with her skin as he left.

Rachel was special to Jesse – she had been since they'd met. And in the eight, almost nine, years that they'd known each other, he's not sure he's ever seen that look so deep in her eyes. It was a special kind of glint that really only came with true feelings of love and adoration. He only hoped he saw the same look in the eyes of whatever guy had caused it in hers.

* * *

"You're late." Kurt snapped, judging Finn with his eyes as he scooted past a few people in their row in the Front Mezzanine section.

"I'm just cutting it extremely close to being on time." Finn snapped back. He was almost out of breath as he sat down next to Kurt in the tightly packed theater, tucking the black beret he had taken off when he walked inside – much like protocol ordered – into one of the cargo pockets of his pants.

"Why are you," Kurt waved his finger up and down at him, "wearing that?"

"I didn't have time to change." Finn explained. "I had to meet with my Major to talk about taking a few leave days and –" Finn sighed when he noticed Kurt's blank stare and shook his head of the annoyance he felt. "I had to talk with a guy above me about taking the few days off that was offered before Thursday after all."

"And in the eight hours you've been gone, you didn't have time to change your clothes? How come you had to put it on anyway?"

"If it's dealing with the military I have to be in one of my uniforms. You know that. And it's a Saturday, Kurt. It took some time convincing him to meet with me on such short notice when he could be spending time with his family. I had to do a few things on Base to get my platoon –" another sigh escaped his lips, "to get the group of guys that I'm in charge of, ready to go on Thursday. Then I had to buy all the stuff I had yet to buy to get _myself_ ready to ship out, if I'm not planning to be on base again until deployment day. So no, I didn't have time to change."

"So does that mean you're staying here?" Kurt asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Yeah," Finn nodded, "so if Rachel decides I'm not worth it, you're stuck with me for at least the next 96 hours." He clapped him on the shoulder as he spoke before reaching over him to shake Blaine's hand. "What's up, man?"

"Not too much," He responded, "I heard you had an interesting night last night that landed us with these amazing seats and permission to go back stage?" A playful smirk was on Blaine's face and that dopey, lopsided grin appeared on Finn's as the lights dimmed and he sat back in his seat.

"That's one way to describe it, I guess." Blaine just chuckled quietly, relaxing in his own seat as the play began.

"When does Rachel come on?" Finn whispered to his step-brother, knowing he'd know. He had wanted to look up what the place was about and what exactly Rachel's role was, but he hadn't had the time with the running he had done that day.

"Just look for the green," Kurt responded with an eye roll, "now shut up and pay attention."

* * *

Finn was absolutely in awe of her. He couldn't form words to describe how amazing she was. She was elegant and practiced on stage. She was calm and it seemed like her performance was effortless. And even with the green covering the entirety of her body, she was absolutely completely stunning.

And her voice.

He felt like he could listen to it forever.

She had gotten a standing ovation twice during the performance, and then again at the end when the cast was giving their bows. She came out and stood front and center of the whole cast, the woman who played Glinda on one side and the man that had played Fiyero, her love interest, flanking her other side. Finn had to tell himself during their duet together that it was just a play. The jealousy he felt scared him.

Kurt had said that this was one of the best performances she had ever had. Finn blushed when he said it was possibly because of him being in the audience. They were backstage now, and Kurt and Blaine were "oohing" and "awhing" over everything. Finn was just looking for Rachel.

"This is so cool!" Kurt exclaimed. Alyssa, Rachel's dresser that had brought them backstage, laughed lightly.

"You get used to it after awhile. Pretty soon you don't even pay attention to your surroundings, you just go where you need to go."

"I don't think this is something I could ever get tired of. The hustle and bustle back here is…thrilling!"

"Where's Rachel?" Finn asked, suddenly growing very impatient.

"She's probably still degreenifying. It usually takes her about a half an hour to get all the makeup off and change back into her clothes. I can take you to her dressing room, if you like?" Finn nodded quickly, and Alyssa smiled at him as she motioned for the three guys to follow her. She led them through the crowded backstage area to a hallway with a few doors located against the walls. The name on the second door on the right side caught his attention.

_Rachel Berry – Elphaba _

Alyssa knocked on the door softly and Finn felt his breath catch in his throat when the door swung open and he caught site of the woman he had been thinking about constantly for the last almost 24 hours. She met his eyes immediately and they both stood there in silence, grinning at the other.

"Do you have a bathroom back here? I think we should have stopped there first before we came back here." Blaine asked Alyssa, taking note of Finn and Rachel's staring contest and breaking the silence that was slowly becoming awkward for everyone that wasn't Rachel and Finn. The short haired woman laughed quietly, ushering the couple away from the doorway.

"You were wonderful, Rachel." Finn breathed, finally finding his voice after a few more moments passed. She bit her lip as a blush rose on her cheeks. His amber colored eyes zeroed in on the action, darkening slightly. She murmured her thank you and opened the door wider, inviting him in. He looked around when he walked in and she closed the door behind him.

"I was going to bring you flowers," he blurted out. "but I was already running late coming from Brooklyn and –" he was cut off when she grabbed him into a kiss. He groaned against her mouth and he grasped her hips to pull her close to him. Her tongue ran along his bottom lip and he opened his mouth eagerly. She pushed him until he felt his knees hit the back of the couch and he sunk down on it slowly. He gripped her sides when she straddled him.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, pulling away from him after a few moments of their intense, spur of the moment make out session. "I wanted to do that." He cupped her cheek, raising her eyes to meet his. He gave her that lopsided grin before kissing her slowly again. He rested his forehead against hers when they pulled apart.

"I hope you never apologize for kissing me again." He told her seriously.

Rachel giggled, pecking his lips again. She slid off his lap to sit beside him on the couch. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it affectionately. "You really were amazing, Rach. If I had any idea that you were that good…just, wow."

"Thank you, Finn."

"I really wish I woulda had time to stop and buy you flowers."

She shrugged and shook her head. "I don't need flowers. I'm just glad you made it. How come you're in uniform?"

Finn felt himself falter for a moment. He didn't want to ruin the happiness that was surging through the room by telling her that he had to make arrangements for leaving – now wasn't the time, nor the place. Plus, he was still terrified at how she was going to react. So he pushed it to the back of his mind, insisting that he could worry about it later.

"Eh, I just had a few things I had to do on base that took longer than what I thought it would."

"Is everything okay?" He was amazed at the concern in her voice. He stuttered out a positive answer, suddenly feeling very nervous. Rachel was experiencing the same emotions. She had put her all into her performance tonight, because she wanted to impress him. Being in this close vicinity to him was making all those scary emotions come rushing at her. She wondered briefly if she was getting in way too over her head. She hardly knew this man but he was effecting her so greatly.

There was a knock on the dressing room door just then, and Finn kissed her cheek before she called for whomever it was to come in. It was Alyssa, and Finn could see Kurt and Blaine behind her. "Come on in, guys!" Rachel called, waving them in before thanking Alyssa. The older woman sent her a smile and a wink before walking away.

"Rachel, you were fantastic!" Kurt exclaimed as he walked into the room, Blaine trailing behind him with an excited, but reserved, smile on his face. Rachel squeezed Finn's hand quickly before standing up to greet his brother. She gave him a quick hug as she expressed her gratitude.

"You must be Blaine. I'm Rachel." She stuck her hand out for him, and Blaine shook it immediately.

"It's so good to meet you, Rachel. Thank you so much for getting us tickets for tonight and letting us come back here."

"Were the seats okay? They were the only decent ones I could get…" She trailed off.

"Are you kidding? Those seats were amazing! The best I've ever had in a Theater!" Kurt waved off her worries. Both Finn and Blaine nodded in agreement.

"Well good, good. Do you guys want me to show you around backstage? Everyone should be clearing out now so it won't be too crowded. I can introduce you to some of the cast if we run into them, if you'd like." Rachel offered kindly, tucking a piece of her long brown hair that had curled up from being pinned up all day behind her ear. Kurt and Blaine both nodded eagerly and as they left her dressing room, Finn couldn't help but intertwine their fingers together. She looked down at it before looking up at him. He gave her that lopsided grin that made her weak in the knees and suddenly Rachel forgot why she had been so nervous about seeing him tonight in the first place.

* * *

**Author's Note: I've always had a soft spot for Jesse St. James. I couldn't bring myself to make him a bad guy. I hope everyone likes the new spin of personality I've taken with him. **

**Again, please take the time and drop a little review. I would love to see at least like ten or something before I post the next chapter, good or bad! I love feedback, whether it's detailed or not. **

**xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the love, guys! Please keep it coming! This is a pretty short chapter but it's what you guys have been waiting for, I think. I hope it doesn't disappoint. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Five _

* * *

"You made their nights tonight, you know." Finn spoke up as they walked in a comfortable silence toward the restaurant she had wanted to take him to. It was just past midnight, but Rachel had assured him that she still wanted to go. She was walking beside him, and Finn was itching to touch her in some way.

"I really like them. They're nice."

"They really like you too. Especially Kurt."

"Well I hope that I can get to know them better." Rachel commented with a smile, glancing at him as they kept walking. Finn could picture it happening. He could picture it perfectly, actually. He could see them all sitting around a dinner table laughing and conversing. He could see the two of them shopping together and arguing over differing tastes, trying to pull Finn in to play referee. Rachel and Kurt being friends seemed like it would be a natural thing to happen.

"And what about me?" He heard himself asking. Rachel let out a single laugh under her breath, moving closer to him and wrapping her hands around his arm, pressing her body tightly against his. She leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek quickly as they continued moving forward. She didn't answer him verbally, but that was enough. They made it to the little hole in the wall restaurant a few minutes later. Finn held the door open for her and they were seated almost immediately, menus in hand.

"I have something I wanted to talk to you about." Rachel began after they placed their drink orders with the hostess that had seated them.

"What is it?" Finn leant his body more toward hers, his full attention on whatever she was about to say.

"I wasn't really planning on saying this now but there's no time like the present, right? I really like you, Finn."

He looked confused for a second. "I really like you too Rachel. Didn't we talk about this last night?"

She nodded, playing with a sugar packet she had grabbed from the container of them on the edge of the table. "I guess we did, but I just, I don't know, wanted to reinforce and clarify everything."

"Go ahead." Finn nodded. He was completely interested in what she had to say. She took a deep breath before she began.

"I wasn't even planning on going out with Santana last night since I had two shows today, but she insisted. And I'm so glad I did, but… I'm scared at what you're making me feel, Finn. I-I've never felt this way about anyone, even people I had known for a long time. I just met you last night by chance and already I feel…" She took another breath, and Finn noticed she was shaking slightly. "I feel like I'm falling for you, Finn. I feel like my heart is going to evaporate into nothingness if I don't get closer to you.

"Rachel, I-"

"I feel like I already know you, you know? And that scares me so much because I've never felt this way. But I want to take a chance with you, Finn. I feel like I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't try and spend as much time as possible with you. Unless…I mean unless you don't feel the same."

Finn smiled almost sadly. He was so happy to hear those words come from her mouth, but at the same time, he felt like his heart was going to be ripped out of his chest. He reached across the table and grabbed onto on of her hands, bringing it to his lips to kiss her knuckles. "I feel the same way." He assured her.

Rachel let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God." She laughed, "I was beginning to take your silence as a bad si-"

"Rachel, I deploy in five days."

Rachel stopped what she was saying immediately. "I-w-what?" Her eyes were wide and her face was pale.

"I'm getting deployed to Iraq this upcoming Thursday." He clarified, an overwhelming feeling of sadness washing over him as he saw her face change. She looked flustered and confused and Finn hated himself for it. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, searching for the words to say.

"Rachel.." Finn sighed, "I-"

"Hey guys, how are we doing tonight?" Their waitress swooped in, setting their waters that they had ordered in front of them and holding her notepad in front of her as she looked at them expectantly. Finn muttered out that they were fine, as Rachel remained motionless, staring intently down at their hands. "Are you guys ready to order?"

"Rachel?" Finn questioned, giving her hand a light squeeze. She shifted her gaze to him. Her eyebrows were drawn together tightly. "Do you know what you want?"

"I-um-a Caesar salad, please." The waitress took her menu from the table and eyed Finn silently, her pen waiting at the pad of paper. He gave her his order quickly, handing her the menu. She thanked them before she walked away. Finn sighed as he turned his gaze back to the stunned girl in front of him.

"I'm so sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" She asked quietly.

Finn shrugged, running his thumb against her skin. "Honestly, when we got to talking last night both at the bar and at your apartment, it had completely slipped my mind. It's almost like I forgot that I was in the military completely."

"But we talked about what we did for a living."

"I know," he nodded, "but I just-I don't know. I didn't think about it until Kurt brought it up this morning. And I've never, ever, felt so much dread wash over me before. I was so scared to tell you."

Rachel remained silent across from him, and Finn decided to continue on. "Most of the guys deploying were given the option to take a Pre-Deployment Rest & Relaxation period, which basically just means they wouldn't be required to report in until formation on Thursday at the leave zone. I had opted not to take it. My mom and step dad weren't able to make it up here and since I'm a sergeant I'm not allowed to leave the state in case something happens to one of my guys even if I was to take the R&R. I went to talk to my Major today, to see if I could maybe take it after all, even though I said no to it." Rachel's eyes finally lifted to meet his. "It's selfish of me, I know. But I wanted to spend time with you this week. I know I'm leaving on Thursday, but everything you just said to me Rachel about how you feel, I feel that too. I don't want to start something here and leave you alone at the end of the week. I don't want to hurt you, Rach. But there's just something about you." His tone held so much passion and sincerity, and Rachel squeezed his hand as he continued his declaration. "You're special, you know? I like you, probably much more than I should," He admitted, "and I don't want to hurt you."

"So are you saying you don't want to spend the next few days with me, now?" Rachel asked quietly after a moment of silence passed between the two.

Finn sighed as he leant back in the booth. "I feel like my head says I shouldn't."

"And your heart?" She asked bravely, scrounging up all the courage she could find within her small, still shocked body.

"My heart is telling me to hold onto you." He admitted honestly. "It's telling me to be selfish the next few days and stay with you."

Rachel inhaled deeply as she tried to process everything that had just been laid on the table. She could feel the tears starting to pool in her eyes and willed them away. He wouldn't take her seriously if she started crying. But what else was she to do – she had poured her heart out to him only to learn that he was leaving in less than a week to fight in a war that had claimed so many lives. It wasn't fair.

"For what it's worth," Rachel began, breaking the silence between them, "I don't think you could hurt me. Not intentionally, at least."

"Maybe not intentionally," Finn shrugged, "but my job in the Army? That could hurt you. I fight on the front line, Rachel. Do you re ally want to spend the next year worrying about me, wondering if I'm okay or if I'm even alive?" Rachel winced at his implication of death, of _his_ death. Her head was telling her to stand up and run out of there; she had to protect her heart. But could she really just end everything with him because he was leaving? Holding his gaze across the table, no, she decided, she couldn't. She was in far too deep already.

She slid out of the booth and stood, and Finn thought for a moment that this was it. She surprised him when she sat down next to him. He moved over to give her more space, but she shook his head. She grabbed onto his camouflage uniform jacket, pulling him into her and kissing him without a word. She rested a hand on the back of his neck and her forehead against his when she pulled away. Their breathing mixed together as she inhaled and exhaled unsteadily.

"Rachel?" He questioned in a whisper, "was that you telling me goodbye or telling me that you're willing to take this crazy leap of faith to see where this goes with me?"

She looked at him through her eyelashes and took another deep breath. "Look," she began, "can we hash out the details later? Just for tonight, can we pretend you're not leaving? Just for tonight. Instead let's just pretend that tonight is one of many nights to come. Let's eat our dinner and then wander around the city together with no worries of what's to come. Let's just focus on us and deal with everything else later. Tonight can we just…can we just be?"

It didn't take long for that lopsided grin that made her weak to appear on his face and he pressed his mouth against hers again. He didn't give her the option to going back to her side of the table by wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She rested comfortably tucked against his side and she inhaled his scent. Finn pressed a soft, soothing kiss to the top of her head. "If that's what you want," he said, "then that's exactly what we'll do."

* * *

**So there it is! He told her! What do you guys think? I hope you liked it! **

**I would also like to take this time to ask you guys something - what do you want to see happen in this story? I have it pretty mapped out for the most part as an overall picture, but I'm definitely willing and wanting to write what you guys want to read. Who do you want to see make an appearance? What should happen to Finn and Rachel while he's in Iraq? If/when he comes home? Or even in the next few days up until he leaves. Let me know! I'm really wanting to read any and all suggestions!**

**Thanks guys! Drop a review for me! Next chapter by Friday if I get as many reviews for this chapter as I did the last! Which is about 12, lol. **

**xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter! Also, I apologize for any grammar errors or misspelling of words - sometimes I just don't catch it when I go back and reread before posting. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Six_

* * *

The sun was starting to creep up on them, and it didn't feel like they had been venturing the streets of New York City until almost four o'clock before venturing back to her apartment. He guessed it was almost six now, and knew that Rachel had to be at the Gershwin by 12:30 to get ready for her Sunday matinee show and should probably get some sleep. Yet he found himself holding onto her body tightly, savoring the feeling of being connected to her and the feel of her lips on his.

"Finn," she whispered, breathless and exhausted yet fully alert to him. She tightened her arms around his neck, arching her back into him.

"You're so amazing." Finn whispered sweetly, "so beautiful." He trailed kisses from the side of her face down to her neck, sucking on the already purplish skin from his earlier ministrations.

"Yes." She breathed out, clutching at his back and gasping as he moved in and out of her. "Oh, Finn." She threw her head back as he thrust into her slowly, clutching at her body just as she was doing to him. "O-oh!"

"Rachel." Her name was a prayer on his lips as his lips sought hers out desperately.

"I could hold you here in my arms forever, I think." Finn murmured softly as Rachel remained tracing hearts on his bare, sculpted chest as they lay together afterwards, a mess of tangled limbs and sheets. She closed her eyes in contentment when she felt him press a kiss to her forehead. He knew she was almost asleep.

"I'm falling in love with you, Finn." She whispered. Her eyes were closed when he looked down at her, and he wasn't sure if she was awake or asleep when she murmured the words. Regardless, he smiled and shifted to hold her just the tiniest bit tighter.

"I think I'm already there, baby." He kissed her forehead softly and let his lips linger for a few extra moments. He lay there with her in his arms, watching her sleep with the beginning rays of sunshine hitting her at the perfect angle through the slightly parted curtains, and suddenly all he could think about was that this was exactly where he was supposed to be.

* * *

"How much time are you going to have between shows today?" Finn asked, lacing up his boots from the edge of Rachel's bed. She had to be at the Gershwin in about 45 minutes and he was doing his best not to get distracted by her getting dressed in front of him. This was the second time he himself was wearing the same clothes as the night before. In the back of his mind he thought he should either bring a set of clothes with him when they go out, or they should go to his, well, Kurt's place instead.

"The matinee gets out around 4:45 and I start getting ready for the 7:00 show around 6 or 6:15. Why?" Rachel asked, brushing through her long hair.

"Let me take you to dinner." He requested, sitting up after finishing with his boots. "We'll find something close by that's not too busy so that you're back on time," he told her, seeing her hesitant look. He stood up, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her from behind. He stared at her in the mirror atop her dresser. "C'mon Rach, please?" He leant down to kiss the side of her neck softly and he ghosted his fingers over her covered stomach when she relaxed back into his tall frame.

"How about you get something to go and we can have dinner in my dressing room?" She suggested, trying her best not to get distracted by his lips on her skin. "I don't get out of the shower until after 5 and this is a Sunday in New York City so I think everywhere will be busier than what it normally is." She explained, lifting her arm so her hand could rest on the back of his neck, her fingertips gently running through his short, cropped hair.

"Maybe I can help you get the green off." He teased as he nipped at her neck. He felt her body jolt. He smirked, softly biting her again.

"_Finn_." The man in question just chuckled against her skin, kissing the spot he had been paying particular attention to once before resting his chin on the top of her head.

"What would you like me to pick up?"

"Hmm. I'm feeling daring – how about Chinese?"

"Chinese is daring?" Finn asked with a quirked eyebrow. Rachel simply shrugged.

"I'm on a strict diet just so you'll know, and I'm vegan, so food of the Chinese culture is cutting it close sometimes."

Finn just smiled at her in the mirror. "Whatever you say, baby." A look crossed over her face just then and his eyes zeroed in on her lip when she bit it. "What?"

She turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around him securely as she peered up at him. "I just like when you call me that, is all." She explained with a smile.

"I like calling you that, _baby._" He emphasized and kissed her forehead as she giggled. "You ready to go?" He asked, interlacing their fingers. She nodded, grabbing her bag from the floor by her door as the two passed on their way into the living room. She wrapped her arms around his torso, smiling up at him as they walked into the living room.

"It's about time you guys surfaced. I've been waiting, and while I totally don't mind walking in on people having sex, I figured I would have the decency to give you guys some privacy." Finn's eyes snapped up when he heard the voice from the couch from where he had been staring down at Rachel as they walked. Berry do you know what – oh, what do we have here?" Rachel just tightened her grip that she had on his body.

"Well thanks for letting your voyeur tendencies take a back seat, Tana." Rachel muttered with an eyeroll. Santana stood up from the couch, eyeing Finn with critical eyes.

"Sasquatch."

"It's Finn, actually." He quipped back, kissing Rachel's head before stepping away from her and loving the way she let out an annoyed sound of protest. He stepped up to the Latina woman, holding his hand out. The tight grip he was met with took him by surprise.

"You hurt my best friend and I kill you, soldier boy." She said simply, retracting her hand. There was nothing teasing about her tone and Finn couldn't help but appreciate that.

"You can choose between my AK and pistol, if you want." She raised her eyebrow at his response, her arms crossed below her chest and that look that is clearly just Santana written all over her face.

"I have weapons of my own." She stated.

"Just thought I would put the offer on the table."

A few moments passed as the two eyed each other, neither moving or speaking until finally Santana cracked a small smile, shaking her head and sitting back down on the couch, picking her magazine up. "Make sure she gets to work on time. She has to get in that disgusting green make up."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Santana." She grabbed Finn's hand, pulling him toward the door.

"Bye Santana." Finn waved. She playfully saluted him as they walked out the door. "She didn't seem that bad." He commented as the duo walked toward the elevator.

"Just don't get on her bad side." Rachel warned.

"Noted." The elevator dinged with its arrival. The two stepped on when the doors opened. Finn leaned down to kiss her as the doors began closing. His lips touched hers just as a foot shot forward, causing the doors to spring back open. Finn felt a slight sense of unease wash over him. Rachel, however, didn't take notice of it as she ran her hand up Finn's chest, too caught up in him to care - until the intruder spoke.

"Making out in public, twice in the span of 36 hours. Real classy, Rachel." Rachel tensed and pulled away quickly, snapping her eyes over to the figure that was leaning against the wall of the elevator opposite them, his arms crossed. Finn tensed as well at the voice. He saw something he could only describe as hate instantly flood into Rachel's dark eyes before turning his own to where hers were directed. The dark haired man from across the hall was staring at Rachel with a smirk on his face and Finn felt his protective instincts kick in almost instantly. He pulled Rachel against him tightly, her back against his chest and his hands holding firmly onto her hips. "I have to say, it's very unlike you."

"You know nothing about me." She sneered, sliding a hand down to rest atop of one of Finn's on her side. Brody's eyes followed the motion before he began appraising Finn instead, much like he had done the previous morning.

"No?"

"Not anymore." She snapped. He shook his head and chuckled lowly, turning his gaze to the doors in front of them as they began to open up to the lobby of the apartment complex. Right before he walked out ahead of them, he sent Rachel a wink that made Finn's blood boil. "Whatever you say, doll."

"Who is he, Rachel?" Finn demanded through half way gritted teeth. He waited a moment before stepping out of the elevator with her, knowing he had to put distance between himself and the other gentleman.

"He's my asshole of a neighbor who uses every opportunity he can to get under my skin." She responded, disgust written all over my face.

"Is that all?" He questioned, turning her to face him as they stood in the middle of the almost empty lobby. Looking up into his intense amber colored eyes, Rachel sighed. She knew she couldn't lie to him.

"He also happens to be my tool of an ex-boyfriend." Finn's already tense form turned rigid and he stood up completely straight. "We've been broken up for a long time, Finn." She explained, running her hand up his chest. She wanted to find a way, any way, to reassure him. "I'm gonna be late." She murmured, "Come on."

He hailed a cab for them when they got outside. It was quiet as he held her hand in the backseat for the first few minutes until he finally broke the silence. "how long?"

Rachel sighed deeply. "Two years."

Finn nodded, still just as tense as before. "He lives across the hall from you." There was a question hidden among his statement, and Rachel nodded, sighing again.

"He wanted to live together." She began to explain, gripping his hand. "But I wasn't ready for that, and I wasn't ready to leave Santana, either. She's my best friend and she was going through a really rough time then." For a moment, Finn let himself think of a weak and hurt Santana – he couldn't picture it. "Plus, she's always hated him." Now that, Finn could picture. "At the time I wanted to make him happy. When the apartment that he's living in now was vacated, I stupidly acted on impulse and told him about it. It was close enough so I thought that it would appease him. So he moved in. We broke up three months later."

"How long ago was that?" Finn asked taking the information that she supplied him with in.

"A little over a year ago. He signed a two year lease." She informed him.

"Why did you two break up?" She broke eye contact for the first time and Finn felt his unease grow. "Rachel?"

"It was messy, Finn." She shrugged. "A lot of secrets were brought to light in ways that they shouldn't have been and words were said that shouldn't ever be repeated and when true colors were revealed, well, it was just messy. And we broke up. That's all that really needs to be said." She hoped that Finn would be satisfied with that.

He wasn't.

"You're not telling me something."

She nodded, not disagreeing with him. She inhaled deeply, smiling at him slightly as she cupped his face in her hands. "I hate him, Finn, like you wouldn't even understand. I don't like talking about him and that's not what I want to spend my time doing. Okay?"

Finn still felt incredibly uneasy.

"Hey," She spoke softly, rubbing her thumb over his cheek until he turned his gaze to her. She lifted her shoulder in a shrug. "It doesn't matter, Finn. Not to me – not anymore. But you," her lips quirked up in a smile and she gave a soft shake of her head, "you do."

Finn didn't want to give in to her. He wanted answers and wanted every detail on what had happened between them, but he didn't want to sit here and dwell on her ex either. So he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and willing the negative feelings to leave his body. It was a technique he had learned in basic training by one of the guys who was incredibly too into yoga for his own good, but it worked almost every time. "Okay," he agreed, "I'll drop it – for now." He added on. Rachel pecked his lips in response and he went to deepen the kiss when the cab driver coughed, gaining their attention that they had arrived at their destination.

"Walk you inside?" He asked, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm already late – and I have a feeling if you walk me inside it'll set me even more behind."

Finn couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face. "I'll see you around five, then?" Rachel nodded, giving him a smile that filled his stomach with butterflies. God, Puck would _kill_ him for thinking like that.

"Just come to this door – I'll give Gary you're name. Just make sure you have photo identification with you, alright?" She kissed him softly after he nodded, brushing her lips against his and smiling before she pulled away. She waved when she closed the door and he made sure she was safely inside before letting the cabbie drive off.

"You guys are quite the pair." He commented. Finn lifted his gaze to meet that of the older man driving him toward Kurt's apartment. A fond smile took over his face as he relaxed back into his seat.

"Thank you, sir."

"When do you ship out?"

Finn furrowed his eyebrows at the question. "How'd-"

"You got that look in your eye, son. You're not wanting to leave her."

"No sir, I'm most certainly not." Finn sighed. He wondered how he found himself in this conversation in the back of a cab, of all places.

"Just make sure you stay safe and come home to her. That's the best feeling in the world – coming home to your girl." There was a glint in his eye that only another soldier could obtain and also recognize.

"How long did you serve?" Finn inquired, leaning forward just the slightest bit in interest as they buzzed through the crowded streets of New York City during the top of the lunch hour.

"I was called up during Vietnam – served over there for three years. Three years I went without seeing my girl. Saw a lot of stuff over there, and I still have nightmares about it sometimes. But when I stepped off that train and she was standing there and I took her in my arms, it was like I had never even been to war."

Finn absorbed his words in silence, pondering if that would be his experience. Would Rachel wait for him for a year? Would she stick with him through the whole deployment and would it go back to being like nothing has changed when he returned home? Did he really expect her to do that? He wasn't sure what he expected, he guessed. He knew what he wanted, of course. He wanted Rachel.

He didn't think a deployment could change that.

"And whatever previous encounter of hers that you were discussing? Would you like some advice?"

"Please." Finn nodded, encouraging the old man that he was growing fonder and fonder of.

"Give her time to tell you."

"I leave on Thursday, sir." Finn explained. The drive sighed in resignation, a sad, sympathetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry to hear that. So tell her how concerned you are, and that you don't want to be thinking about it when you're not here. But don't push her – she doesn't seem like the type that would respond to that well."

Finn couldn't help but to let a small laugh escape from between his lips that were pulled up into his signature lopsided grin. "No sir, she sure isn't."

* * *

**So what did you guys think? What do you think Rachel is hiding about Brody? How should Finn react when he finds out whatever it is? What do you want to see happen before he leaves? **

**Let me know! **

**How about ten-fifteen reviews before the next chapter? Sounds like a good deal to me! Thank you for all of those that are continuously reviewing for every chapter - something special is gonna come your way, I promise! Haha. **

**xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Wow, just wow! Words cannot even begin to explain how shocked I was at the amount of reviews for the last chapter! I was truly stunned and could not be more thankful! I've never received feedback like that for a single chapter the whole time I've been writing! Please, please keep it up! It really got me motivated because I wasn't planning on posting this until Friday! Thank you so much! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! **

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Seven_

* * *

Finn was alone in Rachel's dressing room. The second act wasn't quite over yet and he had arrived a few minutes earlier than what he had anticipated when he left Kurt's apartment. The flowers he finally got around to buying her were seated on the couch and the bag containing their dinner on the table beside it. Finn was taking the time to look around. If he wouldn't have had any previous knowledge, Finn knows he would have known that this was Rachel's dressing room. It felt like her. There were little things laying around that just screamed her name. Most of the knickknacks lying around and the decorations were respectfully green, but there were pinks and blues mixed in that made it less overwhelming.

Finn fingered a picture hanging on her bulletin board of her and her friend Jesse. When she had mentioned to him that they were extremely close, the first feeling that washed over him was jealousy. Then she went into their past and he found himself sort of amazed at their friendship. It's not often that people find themselves in the spotlight and in the midst of fame by themselves. Yet those two knew each other before they landed their leading roles and had somehow managed to stay friends through all the competition and work. Finn was glad that she had somebody that understood her so well.

There was a picture of her and Santana that he couldn't help but laugh at, and a picture with Rachel in-between two older men that he guessed were her fathers. There was one of her and an older woman that looked similar to her, and Finn had an inkling suspicion that this was her biological mother that she had told him the story about. She was sixteen when she first met her and they've had somewhat of a relationship since.

He was flipping through an old playbill from over fifteen years ago when voices entered the hallway at a loud volume. Finn guessed that the play was over. He set the worn booklet down where it was and turned just as the door opened and a smiling, very green Rachel came in pulling her wig off. "Hey!" She exclaimed happily. She was still slightly out of breath from her performance. "You're early!"

"Traffic wasn't as murderous as I thought it was going to be." He explained as he met her in the middle of the room. He put a hand on her waist and was leaning down to kiss her when she stopped him. "What?" He asked puzzled.

Rachel began to giggle. "You might get a little green on you if you do that."

"I'm sure you have something in here that can wipe it off." He responded, repeating the motion of leaning down to kiss her. Her lips were warm and slightly rough on his, and he guessed it was from the black lipstick on them. But he didn't care. She tasted of mint and in the back of his mind came the memory of her telling him that sometimes she'll slip one in during scenes to stay fresh and for her mouth to stay moist.

It had only been a few hours since she'd been in his presence but Rachel had found herself missing him. A ping of sadness hit her. How would she be able to handle him being gone for a year when she could barely last a few hours? This was a situation she never pictured herself in. Rachel's arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled her body closer to his the more she thought about it. She didn't want him to go, she realized. She was falling in love with this man quicker than she realized she wanted to be a star. And _that_ was saying something.

But she wouldn't think about that now, she decided. Those thoughts were being pushed to the back of the filing cabinet in her mind to be pulled back out at a later date. Right now the only thing she would concern herself with right now was him, here in the flesh.

He pulled her hips against his and she couldn't help the soft sigh of pleasure she let out. The sound was music to his ears and Finn ran his tongue along her bottom lip, seeking entrance that was quickly granted to him. A few wonderful, blissful moments were spent attached at the lips before he pulled away for air. He leaned his forehead against hers. "How was your show?"

She nodded, "good, really good." She breathed, holding onto him. "I-" There was a knock on the door then. Rachel turned just in time to see it open and Jesse poke his head in.

"Hey Ra-Oh, hello." Jesse stood up straighter when he saw that Finn was already here. He thought he could have caught Rachel before he showed up. "Finn, right?" He walked further into the room, taking their silence as an invitation. He held out his hand when he got close enough. Finn reached around Rachel and shook his hand, his other hand placed lovingly on Rachel's side through her thick costume.

"Yeah. Nice to meet you, man. Rachel's told me a lot about you."

"Don't believe a negative word that comes out of her mouth about me. It's all lies." He tossed Rachel a playful smirk and a wink, to which she just rolled her eyes. Finn smiled tightly, as he wasn't completely comfortable with the other male quite yet. He wondered if he would even have time to do so before he left. He deflated a little bit at the answer he already knew; probably not. "But hey, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to ask Rachel something, but it can wait."

"What's up Jesse?" She inquired, and the older brunette man really should have known better than to say he wanted to ask her something and then try and get out of it. She was Rachel Berry, after all, and curious was once her figurative middle name.

He glanced back and forth between her and Finn and sighed, a blush starting to form on his cheeks. "This might make things awkward." He admitted, scratching at the back of his neck. Rachel's eyebrows knitted together and she cocked her head to the side. The motion let him know that she wanted an explanation. "I was going to ask if we were going to Joe's dinner together or if we were just going to meet there. I wanted to ask now because I have something to do on Monday and need to know if I'm swinging by to get you or not."

Joe Mantello was their director and always made a big deal of the annual dinner party that he held for the whole cast and crew and their families. It was a big event on their one weekly day off and everyone loved dressing up in something other than their costume. This would be both Rachel and Jesse's first year attending, as she had joined the cast a few months after the one that was held last year. It was only eight days away and Rachel was surprised she had managed to forget about it.

"Umm.." She muttered, chancing a quick glance up at Finn. The tallest patron of the room was staring at Jesse intently, a look she couldn't quite read on his face. She could tell Jesse could feel his stare on him, too. "Maybe we should just m-"

"I think you guys should go." Finn cut in. Rachel looked at him in surprise. "I'm serious," he added at her look, nodding in encouragement. "You said you and Jesse were really good friends so I don't see why not." He shrugged. Internally, all he was thinking was that if this is what it took to keep her from going with somebody else that wasn't him then he would just have to suck it up and deal with it. He tried to swallow all the feelings of jealousy that were coursing through him and reminded himself of all the stories Rachel told him about Jesse. He protected her, Finn told himself, and he's always been there to watch over her.

"I-yeah, yeah, okay." Rachel nodded, processing his words and marveling at just how amazing he was. This was the first relationship she's ever had that her boyfriend hadn't been crazy jealous of the strangely close friendship she had with one Jesse St. James. Finn was _trusting_ her, and she felt herself falling quicker and quicker because of it.

"Awesome, then. Well that's all I needed." Jesse nodded slowly, thinking much the same thoughts as Rachel about how weird it was for Finn to react like that. Any guy that was after her heart had never trusted him, much less encouraged him.

"Rachel, Joe wants to talk to you." Alyssa spoke from the doorway, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "Said it will only take a minute." She added at Rachel's hesitant look.

"Okay," She responded. She pecked Finn's lips quickly and squeezed his arm before moving toward the door. She found herself glancing over her shoulder at the two men. She could trust them together, right? Jesse wouldn't stay long, she was sure.

A moment of silence passed by before Finn extended his hand again. Jesse looked at it before meeting Finn's eyes again. He reached out and shook it slowly, matching his grip. "You have no reason to trust me," he started, "but I want you to know that I really, really care about Rachel. I know she's your best friend and I know that your opinion means a lot to her. I just want you to know that I'm being sincere with my feelings toward her." Finn explained honestly.

"She told me you're leaving on Thursday." Jesse spoke, and Finn appreciated that he wasn't beating around the bush.

"Shitty timing." Finn responded back with a sad shrug.

"Rachel's special." Jesse said, sincerity and love in his voice. "She deserves somebody who recognizes that."

"I've known that since before I even knew her name, man."

It was quiet for several beats as the two men eyed each other up. He knew this might be his only encounter with the performer, and Finn wanted his approval. It was a strange feeling for him. He had never cared about getting approval in any of his other relationships. But he was being honest when he agreed with Jesse – Rachel was special, and this wasn't his typical relationship.

"Shitty timing then," Jesse finally spoke; breaking the silence, and Finn felt a sort of ease wash over him. "You're right man, I don't know you. But I know Rachel better than anyone except for maybe Santana and I've never seen her like this. Just…make sure you come back, okay? I've seen her go through heartbreak. And I don't want to see that again."

Finn nodded and assured him that he had nothing to worry about. Breaking Rachel's heart was the last thing on his agenda. "Can I ask you something? I don't think I really need to but...I don't know, I think the reassurance will make me feel better." Jesse shrugged his shoulders, and Finn continued on. "You'll watch over her, right?"

"Of course." Jesse rocked on his heels, nodding at him with his hands in his pockets.

"I know it's crazy that we just met, but she's really important to me. I just – I think this is going to be really hard on her." Finn explained.

"Well Rachel's always been one for dramatics, so I'll be honest with you and tell you that she's probably going to go over the top when you leave." Finn let out a deep sigh, rubbing at his forehead to try and rid himself of the sad feelings hitting him. Jesse noticed and decided to take pity on him. "But she's also really strong. So once she gets done with her initial tantrum, she'll be okay."

"You think so?" Finn asked. Hope was clear in his voice.

"Yeah, I do. This whole thing between you two is weird, but when you know you know, right?"

The words stuck out to him, and he repeated them, more to himself then to Jesse, "When you know you know."

"Look man, don't worry about her being alone. I've watched over her since the jackass jocks at our high school pushed her into the lockers. That was nine years ago and I haven't stopped since. I'll be there for her while you're gone."

Finn was grateful that Jesse found the words that he couldn't. He was glad for the reassurance and he was pondering what else to say when Rachel came back in the room, smiling at the both of them.

"Well I'll be going." Jesse announced. He shook Finn's hand again, nodding at the taller of the two. "It was nice meeting you, man. And uh, if I don't see you again before you leave, stay safe alright?"

Finn nodded, releasing his hand. "Thanks, man." Jesse knew he was thanking him for more than just safe wishes, and sent him a smile before walking toward the door. He told Rachel he would see her later and kissed her hair when he passed her. He closed the door behind him. Rachel sent him a dazzling smile before something caught her eye. "You got me flowers!" She exclaimed, moving toward the couch. She picked up the bundle gently, observing the array of different colors and kinds. "Oh Finn, they're beautiful, thank you!" She set them back down and moved to be close to him again, rising on her toes to kiss him.

With a promise of taking a quick shower and being out shortly, she entered the small bathroom that was connected to her dressing room. Part of her wished he would have asked to join her, but she knew it was for the better if he didn't. She needed to wash away the green paint and it would just be way too messy if he were with her.

She was finished in a record of fifteen minutes, eager to get back to him. She wrapped her robe around herself, rubbing moisturizer on her face while simultaneously rubbing away the last hint of green that the makeup left. She studied herself and took a deep breath before going back into the room. Finn was sitting on the floor with his back against the couch. The Chinese food that he had bought for them was spread out in front of him. He smiled at her as she sat down next to him. She folded her legs under her and she was so close that her knees were touching his thigh. He offered her a plastic fork in silence and she accepted it gratefully.

They made small talk as they ate. He told her about Kurt packing all of his things that had been strewn around the guest room in plastic bags from the military supply store, and told her that he would call Kurt and arrange for them to all go out to dinner when Rachel expressed she would be interested in that. She told him how one of the members of the Ensemble almost tripped on stage today, and how she almost dropped her broom because she was pulled into the air quicker than usual. He laughed at that and made a joke about how good was trying to consume her soul instead of evil.

They talked about their childhoods, and Rachel was delighted when Finn revealed that he played the drums and loved to sing in the shower. Finn told her that he would have loved to see her perform with her Glee club – to which she gloated had won at the National level every year she was a member – and in return she said she would have loved to see him on the football field with his team. Conversation flowed easily between the two.

When they finished eating and packed away all the utensils and trash into the bag that the food had come in, Rachel thanked him. He said a simple you're welcome, because there wasn't really anything else that needed to be said. The air shifted between them as they held each others gaze, simply lost in the depth of the emotions they saw reflecting in each others eyes. It was funny that he kept finding himself doing that, losing himself in her eyes, that is. He always used to think it was weird how couples could just stare at each other without speaking. He thought it was awkward and uncomfortable. But it was the easiest and most natural thing in the world to do with her.

Rachel bit her lip as she stared into his eyes. They were gorgeous, she noted, as she did every time she caught sight of them. They were a unique shade of brown, sort of caramel and sort of amber colored. They fit him perfectly. "I love your eyes." She blurted out, blushing slightly when she realized the words actually came out. He sent her a wink that only intensified the heat in her cheeks. "I'm really going to miss those eyes. I almost wish I had met you at a different time so I could look into them longer." His eyes snapped to hers and he pulled his hand away. "I didn't mean it like that!" the frazzled actress exclaimed, "What I meant was that I wish you weren't leaving!" She bit her tongue in frustration. She wouldn't be able to say anything that wouldn't come out sounding like something she didn't exactly mean.

"I wish I wasn't leaving too, Rachel."

"I didn't mean to make you angry." Finn had stood up and was pacing slightly. He stopped and paused from running his hand over his cropped hair. He let out a deep sigh and moved with her to sit on the couch.

"You didn't make me angry." He answered. "At least not at you. This situation is just bogus."

"I know."

The conversation had escalated quickly and Rachel really wished she would have just kept her mouth shut. Things had been so peaceful and amazing. But she knew they had to have this conversation eventually and since she already ruined the mood she might as well keep going with what was on her mind. "I'm scared for you to leave." She admitted. "I don't want you to forget about me."

"Rachel…" Finn sighed, "I could never forget you."

"I've never been in a long distance relationship. And this is a long distance relationship to the extreme with hardly any preparation."

"You're scared." He guessed, and he knew his assumption was accurate when she said she didn't do well with being scared. He could see that easily; Rachel was headstrong and powerful. Fear shouldn't even be in her vocabulary yet he was the cause of it.

"I want to be in a relationship with you Finn, I do. I just wish we had more time together." He took her in his arms and held her against him tightly, running his hands through her hair and over her back. He couldn't find the words right now. He wished he could. He wanted to reassure her somehow. But instead all he could do was agree with her.

"I wish we did too baby, I wish we did too."

* * *

Rachel was tired. She couldn't remember the last time she didn't make herself get at least 7 hours of sleep on a work night, but with Finn with her she had hardly gotten 4 or 5, two nights in a row. She couldn't help but smile slightly as she thought of their activities.

But they also made her so, so sad.

It wasn't fair that the time they have together was going to be cut so short.

Her makeup artist had come in shortly after Rachel and Finn talked, and he had left during her "greenifying" process after extending to her an open invitation to come over and stay with him at Kurt's apartment when she was done for the night with a promise that if she didn't, then she would see him tomorrow as long as she wanted to. It was her day off and he wanted to spend the day with her.

She wanted to spend it with him too, she knew, yet she found herself unlocking her own apartment door instead of knocking on his. Rachel didn't do well with fear. She never had. So she opted to avoid it instead of deal with it. Not the best solution, she knew. Regret would come later she was almost sure of it.

"Hey scaredy cat." Her eyes turned into slits as she glared at her smirking roommate. Santana was laying on the couch watching Four Weddings and her sarcasm wasn't what Rachel wanted to deal with right now.

"Not now, Santana." The Latina merely rolled her eyes as she sat up, turning the flat screen television that was mounted on the wall to the off position.

"How come your not with Soldier-boy?" She questioned.

"Why are you so concerned?"

"Because he came here after he left the Gershwin and we talked." Rachel halted to a stop from where she was about to enter the hallway and spun on her heel to look at her best friend. "Oh yeah, I'm being serious." Santana added as the question flashed across Rachel's face. She had known her long enough to know what she was thinking. "He told me that you were scared. I told him you being you, that's probably accurate and you would probably run away so you don't have to deal with it."

"Santana!"

"Well it's true, isn't it? That's why you're here and not over with him when that's really where you should be spending your time right now. You didn't tell me that he's deploying."

"When did I have an opportunity to?" Rachel asked, a hand on her hip.

Santana merely shrugged. "That's not the point here. The point here is that you're already head over heels with him."

"We just met!"

"Who the hell cares, Rachel? Since when do you doubt love at first sight? It's almost always the case in all your sappy romance movies."

"Those are just movies, Santana! This is my life!" Rachel yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Things like this don't happen in real life!"

"That's bullshit and you know it. You're just scared that he's gonna leave you in a few days. But so what, Rachel? He'll be gone for a year and you two can spend that years being sappy as hell with your letters and your phone calls and everything else. Then he'll come back and you two can be together. Isn't that what you want?" Rachel was quiet. Santana did have a point – they could still communicate while he was away. It would be scarce, but they could do it. "Look, Rachie. I'm not going to force you what to do here and try and talk you into any decisions, but that boy is already basically pretty much in love with you. Who cares about how quickly it happened? If you don't feel the same way about him, or if you don't want to talk to him while he's away, you need to let him know now."

"Why are you so concerned about him?" Rachel inquired softly.

The look on Santana's face softened. "Because he's the first guy to treat you decent in a long time, Rachel. I care about you, and I haven't seen you this happy since Brody." Rachel remained silent. Her mind was going into overdrive and she didn't know what to say or what to do. She had always been really good at controlling her emotions – now they were completely out of whack. She felt out of control and she hated it. Santana sighed. She could tell Rachel was frustrated and she felt for her, she honestly did. She grabbed an envelope that Rachel hadn't noticed on the coffee table and stood, striding across the room. When she was within distance, she handed it off to the shorter girl. "It's from Finn," she explained, "he wrote it when he was here. Read it, and then you really need to make a decision, Berry." With a squeeze of her arm, Santana walked out of the room. Rachel sunk down onto the loveseat near her and heard Santana's door close.

Her name was written in black ink across the front of the envelope in a hand writing she had never seen before. It was slightly messy and she immediately adored it. _Finn. _She took a deep breath before slipping the three pieces of paper out and unfolding them.

_Rachel,_

_I sat in your room this morning for a few minutes watching you sleep. I was lying beside you when I realized just how amazing of a woman you are. I feel like last night I really got to know you as a person, you know? I noticed that you like to be in control, and you're wonderful at masking your emotions. I guess that's what makes you such an amazing actress, huh? You're honest and brave and you do things that make you happy. You really like stars and metaphors, and you know what you're capable of and you're not scared to put someone in their place when they're wrong. _

_I know you're scared of me leaving this week and maybe that's why you haven't given into this 100%. And that's okay. It's okay to be scared. Right before you fell asleep, you said you were falling in love with me. I don't think you thought I heard you and you fell asleep before you could hear me respond back that I think I'm already in love with you, Rach. It's crazy, and there's not a single part of me that cares. I just need you to know how true that is._

_I feel like my world was black and white up until Friday night. Then suddenly there was this flash of color – green, I guess – that suddenly appeared._

Rachel laughed quietly, sniffing softly as she felt her eyes water up with the emotion she was feeling.

_All I really ever focused on was the duties that were given to me. I had to lead my men and get them ready for this deployment. For some of them, it's their first and they're fresh out of boot camp. That's scary – I should know. My life, the direction I was going, was cut and dry – black and white. Do the job and complete the mission. I wasn't scared to go back to Iraq because there was nothing holding me back. I was used to not being around my family. But then I saw you._

_I'd never seen anyone so beautiful in my life. I feel like I've had the best 48 hours of my entire life, Rachel. I honestly think I could spend forever learning all that there is to know about you._

_I never really believed in soulmates, you know? I think it was just something that happened in the sappy romance movies that my mom always watches. But I think you could be mine. That night at the bar my first thought was how beautiful you were. But then there was this clicking inside of me, like all the puzzle pieces of my life suddenly fit together. It felt like I was, I don't know, getting my first fresh of breath air after going through the gas chamber during bootcamp. It was like my soul just looked at you and told my heart, "that's the one you didn't even know you were looking for." _

_Two nights and I've fallen so much in love with you already. You're in my head, Rachel. You're my every thought. I dream about you when I'm asleep, and I've fallen asleep and woken up to thoughts about you. And I don't think that's just because I've been waking up in your bed, either. _

_I thought the Army was my future. I thought I would do my twenty or plus years and then retire and be perfectly content with my life. But in the past 48 hours, I've realized that I don't know if that's it for me anymore. Because suddenly the only thing I see for sure when I think about the future is you. You and me, baby. I think we're endgame. _

_I know it's crazy to be talking this way after knowing you for such a short time, but I want you to know that I'm being more honest now than I ever have been in my life. I don't care how crazy or hard it's going to be. I need you to know that as long as you want me to hang on, then I don't plan to ever let you go._

_I guess the whole purpose of this letter is a question. Will you trust me, Rachel? All you have to do is say yes, say yes and take my hand. I'll make sure nothing ever hurts you._

_I'm putting myself out there and telling you this because all I want now is to be with you. I only have three days and a wake up now before I leave. But I want you to be there for me to call and to write to and to look forward to coming home to. And as long as you'll have me, I'll be yours. All you have to do is say yes. _

_Whatever you decide just know that my life has been forever changed from knowing you. _

_Yours always,_

_Finn_

Tears were pouring down her cheeks by the time she finished, and a sob ripped from her throat when she finally found it in her to take a breath. She'd never felt emotions like these ones. This was crazy. She knew that. Yet all she could think about was getting to him and having that future that he talked about.

A year couldn't be that bad, she rationalized, and if they could survive that year they could survive anything.

Santana entered the room right before Rachel shot up in her seat, clutching the letter and reaching for her purse that she had let fall to the floor in the midst of her reading. She held a pink duffle out to the emotional twenty-three year old. "I packed you an overnight bag. And there's a sticky note of what subway to take to get there the quickest. Jesus, Berry, okay." Rachel had thrown her arms around her tightly, and Santana patted her back as she began to lose her breath. "Time to let go." She wheezed. Rachel pulled back and kissed her cheek. She grabbed the bag and managed to yell out a thank you as she took off out the door.

Santana did nothing but roll her eyes as she reclined back on the couch. She flipped on the television to continue watching her shows, muttering to herself, "I hope they remember to use protection."

* * *

"Rachel, what a pleasant surprise!" Finn's attention was grabbed when her name escaped Kurt's lips. He set down the knife he was holding slowly and wiped his hands on the dishtowel beside him. It was almost midnight and he had figured when Rachel didn't come straight here she wasn't going to come at all, regardless of the letter he left her. "Oh, are you okay?"

Finn came in from the kitchen and his eyes immediately cast over her.

"I need to talk to – Finn." She had caught sight of him when she was talking to Kurt, and his name left her throat in a breathless sigh. She pushed passed Kurt, who happily let her, and before Finn could even process what was happening she was throwing her arms around his neck tightly. He steadied her and stood up straight, the motion lifting her off the ground in the process. Instead of letting them dangle, she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"I'm going to go back to my room. Goodnight." Kurt left quickly, sending Finn a wink and thumbs up that the older boy barely registered.

"Rachel?" Finn questioned, running his hand over her back lightly. The words that escaped her mouth made his heart swell.

"I trust you," She almost cried, clutching him tightly. She opened her heart to him 100% and she couldn't bring herself to ease her grip up on him at all. She wanted to hold onto him forever.

"Oh, baby." He breathed, pulling back from their embrace just the slightest bit to give him room to press their lips together. "I won't hurt you, Rachel." He promised, "I swear I won't."

Rachel knew she was taking a chance here. She knew she was setting herself up and the only thing she could really do was hope and pray that he had never spoken more sincere words.

* * *

**So what did you guys think?! The next chapter is about eighty percent done and it's the chapter where Rachel's history with Brody is laid out on the table, so the more reviews I get the quicker I post it! I seriously loved the feedback for the last chapter. **

**Let me know any comments/concerns/suggestions that you have! I love to read them! **

**xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Let me begin by simply saying that my, as I'm sure everyones are who are reading this, heart is absolutely broken. Thursday's tribute to Finn Hudson, and inevitably Cory Monteith, was truly beautiful, and truly emotional for everyone who participated in the creation and viewing of it. Cory Monteith was a beautiful soul who suffered from a terrible addiction. I don't condone drug use. But I do understand that sometimes people struggle with things in their own ways. I know that from personal experience and I cannot judge others on their actions. I mourn Cory and I do sincerely hope he's in a better place now, and people seem to think that because of that, I'm a drug supporter. I'm not for my own personal reasons. But just because I support Glee and I write about it many seem to think that I do. We all mourn in our own ways, and I suppose this way is mine. Writing helps me get through things I'm going through in my life, it always has and probably always will. I feel truly blessed that my writing may help others, as well. I just felt the immense need to say that to break up a lot of the controversy that's been occurring lately.**

**Rest in Peace Cory, and know that you're loved and missed. I hope your at peace now and that whatever demons you had aren't chasing you anymore. **

**With that being said, Glee is the sole property of FOX and it's creators. I claim nothing. **

**Please enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Eight_

* * *

Rachel and Finn spent Monday in a bubble of their own pure bliss. They slept in until almost noon and then Rachel made him one of the best lunches he's ever had. He made love to her in the shower and they laughed when they had to actually go about getting clean with icy drops pounding down on them. Kurt had returned by the time they emerged back into the main part of the loft. He sent them both a wide grin. Finn knew how happy his brother was about this newfound relationship he found himself in with the Broadway starlet.

Said starlet and brother got caught up in a conversation about costume designs and casting calls and Finn was so glad that they got along like they did. He pulled her away around two, and the duo spent the entirety of the afternoon wondering around the city. They were lying together on the ground in central park watching the sun go down when he whispered that he loved her into her dark, soft hair. She squeezed his hand and kissed him, before pulling away and opening her mouth to respond to him. "Don't say anything yet." He requested. A confused look broke out on Rachel's face. "I just…I don't want you to say anything until you're absolutely like, positively sure, okay?"

Rachel nodded and kissed him slowly. She settled back into his arms and wondered if he was made for her. She was so much smaller than him yet fit against him perfectly. His body warmed hers in the soft breeze of the New York September air. She wanted to freeze time.

They returned to Kurt and Blaine's apartment and retrieved an overnight bag for Finn before taking the subway back to Rachel's upscale apartment. Santana was there when they arrived. In the back of his mind, Finn knows the two of them could be really good friends. She's quick and witty and extremely lacked a filter to her thoughts.

The three of them ordered pizza and ate together before Santana retreated back to her room. "Watch your noise level tonight, will you? I like to watch my porn online, not hear it in person!" She called over her shoulder and Rachel threw a throw pillow at her.

"She's terrible." She commented, and Finn just laughed.

"She's probably right." He responded. Rachel giggled as he nuzzled her neck. Her legs were draped over his lap as they sat on the couch together. She was pulled close to him with one of his arms around her shoulder and the other lay across her thighs, his hand resting on her hip. He nipped at her ear and Rachel snuggled closer to him, reaching for the remote. They had plans to watch a movie and as much as they both wanted to spend the time fooling around, they were trying to squeeze in as much normalcy as a couple as they could in the short amount of time that they had.

* * *

Rachel fell asleep against him before the credits of the movie rolled, and Finn engraved the peaceful, content look on her face into memory. He reached over her to grab the remote and switched the television off. It was almost 11, and he knew she was exhausted. He was careful when lifting her and carrying her back to her bedroom. He returned to the living room and made sure the front door was locked securely and turned off all the lights on his way back to Rachel's room.

Her eyes were half open in his direction when he walked in.

"I thought you were sleeping." He spoke softly, shutting her door and pulling his shirt over his head.

"C'mere." She responded. Her exhaustion was evident in her voice.

He slipped his jeans and socks off before climbing on the bed with her. He took notice that she had taken off her skirt and shirt she had on and was just in her lacy underwear and tank top. He kissed her bare shoulder as he settled in behind her. "Go to sleep, beautiful."

"Hold me." She requested, snuggling back against his bare chest.

"'Course." He whispered, letting his arm slip around her waist.

"I'm going to love spending every minute with you tomorrow." She murmured. He picked his head up to look down at her face.

"Every minute?" He questioned.

"Mhm, not going to work. Standby's going to cover me the next couple days. Wanna be with you." She slurred through her current state of barely there consciousness. Her eyes were already closed and she wasn't looking at him, but that didn't stop the wide grin from spreading out on Finn's face. That simple notion meant the absolute world to him. He tightened his arm around her and nuzzled his face into her hair before he let himself drift off to sleep. This woman was amazing and he would gladly spend every waking moment with her if he could.

* * *

Finn woke up to kisses being placed all over his chest and a weight over his hips. He was smiling even before he opened his eyes. "Good morning." He spoke.

His voice was husky and Rachel bit her lip as the sound made her body tingle. "Good morning, gorgeous." She responded, kissing up his chest to his neck. He wrapped his arms loosely around her.

"Mmm," he groaned, loving the feeling of her lips on his skin and her body on his. "Good morning indeed." Rachel giggled just the slightest bit against his skin before increasing the pressure of her mouth and shifting just the slightest bit on his lap. She pulled away from him as his hands settled on her hips. She sat up and smiled down at him, and it was that Rachel Berry wide smile that Finn loved so much.

"Did you just give me a hickey?" He asked, the remaining remnants of sleep leaving his body. She giggled and nodded.

"Now all those Army girls know you're taken." He let out a deep laugh and shook his head at her. He had told her there were a handful of women in his company, but that none of them were in his specific platoon and she hadn't forgotten about it. "How'd you sleep?"

"Wonderful. And you?"

"Fabulously. I think it may have something to do with having such a strong, sexy soldier spooning me." Finn grinned up at her, pleased with her statement.

"Glad I could be here to help."

"You know," She drawled out, a faux contemplative look on her face, "I think you may be able to assist me with another task."

An eyebrow cocked up and it aided her in continuing. She leaned down so her chest was flush against his and her warm breath hit his face as she tugged on his earlobe before whispering in the most sensual and seductive voice he'd ever heard. "I had a dream about you."

"Oh yeah?" His mind was becoming cloudy as his arousal started growing.

"Mhm." She hummed against his skin. "And it left me a little…flustered." Finn gripped her hips.

"You wanna tell me about that dream?" He asked huskily. She bit her lip in that sexy way she did that drove him crazy and his darkening eyes zeroed in on the action.

"I think I'd rather us just bring it to reality." She responded, rolling her hips into his. Finn was flipping them and she was on her back before she knew it. His eyes had turned from that amber color she adored to a dark brown that turned her insides to goo.

"Nuh uh," he shook his head as he looked down at her. "I want to hear you say it."

"Finn," she whined in protest. "that's embarrassing."

"You're the one who brought it up. Now I want you to hear you tell me about this dream, with detail."

She was hesitant, he could tell, but then he was pushing her tank top up so he could touch her skin and all her embarrassment seemed to flush away. He knew she took care of it, and it showed by how soft and smooth it was. Her stomach was toned to perfection. He pressed a kiss to the skin of her torso.

"Well, there was that." She stuttered out.

"Mhm, what else?" He asked against her skin, looking up at her through his thick eyelashes. A look of upmost pleasure was on her face and it thrilled him.

"Touch me, Finn." She requested in a breathless voice instead.

He smirked with his reply. "I am touching you."

She whined out his name and bucked her hips up. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"What did I do in this dream?" He requested again. She let out a frustrated sigh and brought her hand down to her panties. Finn grabbed her wrist and stopped her before she could slip her fingers underneath the lacey magenta material. "Oh no you don't."

"You're not being fair," She whined. All he did was raise his eyebrow in response. She groaned and threw her head back against the pillows. She was silent for a moment before lifting her head and glaring at him.

"You did something you hadn't done before." He quirked his eyebrow up again. "You-" she cleared her throat, "put your...mouth on me."

"I went down on you?" he clarified. She blushed and nodded. "Huh," he let out, a lopsided grin stretching across his face. "I think that can be arranged."

Her eyes widened as he scooted his body down the bed more, and he pulled her panties down roughly before she could even really process what was happening. She felt his breath hit her thighs and swore she heard him inhale her scent. "Finn," she panted. He "hmmed" as he kissed her thigh, sucking on the soft skin. "Please," she begged, "I need to feel you, please."

Her begging him was going straight to his crotch, and he knew he was harder than stone at this point and that he would need release soon. The goddess spread out before him on the bed, though, was far more important. His own pleasure could wait because she needed him to give her, hers. He kissed her swollen lower lips softly at first. The smallest taste of her remained on his lips, and he groaned loudly when he swiped his tongue across them to taste her. Just one taste and he was completely hooked on her. She let out a long moan as he began lapping at her. She had just as tight as grip on his hair as he had on her hips. "Oh-oh my." She panted, pushing her hips up to somehow try and get closer to him, to his touch, his love, anything.

Finn felt like a man who had been severely dehydrated who was finally getting water. Her taste was…incredible. He had no idea, and if he did, he would have done this days ago.

Rachel had always secretly loved oral sex. But Finn had made any experience she had with it, which granted wasn't a lot; seem like the bootleg version of an already bad movie. He was _spectacular_.

She almost screamed when he pushed a finger inside of her, and she did when his mouth closed down on her overly sensitized clit. "Finn! Oh _God_." She gasped loudly when he began humming, his lips still closed around her clit and his fingers moving in and out of her. "I'm going to – oh my god I'm going – going to – " Rachel was panting and gasping as she twisted her fingers into his hair. She suddenly found herself forgetting how to form coherent words. Where had this man been all her life?

"Come on, beautiful." He spoke against her, licking up her slit again as he curled his fingers inside of her. He thinks in that moment that he could gladly spend all day doing this. "Come for me."

"Fi-Finn!" A huge moan traveled out of her as she came against his fingers and his mouth. She spasmed on the bed under him as she rode the waves of one of the most intense orgasms she'd ever went through. She barely registered the kisses that Finn was trailing up her body until he placed a kiss on her ear. "I'm not finished with you yet," he whispered huskily, while simultaneously Rachel felt him line up at her entrance and slam into her. She felt herself tense up again as her body went into an immediate second release. "_F__uck." _

Finn realized that that was the first time he had ever heard her use that word, and he couldn't help but smirk. He kept up his rough, quick pace. He knew it wouldn't be long for him and he wasn't concerned with making it last at the moment. "You're so fucking amazing." He swore, rolling one of her rosy, pert nipples between his fingers. Rachel's nails dug into the skin on his back as she moaned. "So perfect." He continued on. The sounds she was making were driving him wild. "Oh fuck, Rachel." He cried out as he felt himself release inside of her in long, hot spurts. He fused their lips together in a rough, messy kiss. He slowed down his thrusts as his orgasm traveled through him, until he stopped them all together. "I love you." He whispered into their kiss. Rachel acknowledged the words by tightening her arms around him and wrapping her legs around his waist to pull him flush against her. Finn knew that, for now, that was her way of saying the words back to him.

He pulled away from her as a thought suddenly hit him. "You know, I let you get away with it that time – but next time I'm getting the details I want from you." He informed her. Rachel just blushed and giggled before pulling him back down against her.

* * *

Morning quickly bled into afternoon, and the duo spent it lounging around in Rachel's apartment together. It felt like home here, Finn realized. In his heart he knew that was just because she was here. They were meeting Kurt and Blaine for dinner at Sardi's soon, and Finn had left Rachel in the bathroom to get ready. Trying to get frisky with her while she had both a flat iron and a curling iron heated up wasn't the best of ideas. He was playing on his phone on her bed when he heard hers buzzing against the wooden top of the dresser again.

It had been doing that for the better part of the day. Rachel ignored it for the most part, and had finally turned the ringer off a few hours ago. But Finn felt a nagging feeling at him. He was up and moving across the room to the offending device before he could stop himself. He hit the home button on the pink case enclosed iPhone to light up the screen. His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as anger and anxiety started to leak into his system.

Brody Weston's name took up every slot for missed calls and text messages that appeared on the screen, and he knew there had to be more than just the most recent ones.

**Brody Weston: **You don't know what you're getting into.

**Brody Weston: **You need to come to your senses Rachel. It's almost been a year now.

_Missed Call: Brody Weston_

**Brody Weston: **Come on, doll.

**Brody Weston: **What's so special about this one?

**Brody Weston: **Quit being so god damn stubborn.

Finn's nostrils flared as he read what he could. His body was becoming more and more tense.

"Okay, I just need to cha-" Rachel stopped short when she saw her phone in Finn's hand. She didn't have to guess to know what he was looking at on the screen. "Finn..."

"I leave in two days, Rachel. Two days." Finn spoke through gritted teeth.

"I know," she whispered, playing with the hem of her tank top she had put on after her shower.

"I'm not going to leave here without knowing the backstory of this asshole – especially since he's been texting you almost nonstop all day!"

"I don't respond to him."

"That doesn't matter, Rachel!" Finn snapped. He threw her phone on the bed before he gave himself the opportunity to throw it against the wall and let out an aggravated sigh. He wanted to kick something. "You have to see where I'm coming from with this."

He took a seat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand over his face as he tried to calm himself down. He was trying his best not to snap at her because she didn't need to see him with his riled up temper. It wasn't a pretty thing to witness.

Rachel walked over to him and let her arms fall around his neck. His snaked around her waist as she stood between his legs. "I do." She whispered, raking her fingers through his hair.

"Tell me about Brody." She sighed like she knew this was coming and Finn tried not to deter away from his intentions – he didn't want her upset, no, but it was going to drive him crazy not knowing.

"What do you want to know?" She asked quietly. Finn tugged at her body gently. She let him pull her so that she sat on his lip comfortably.

"Everything."

Rachel nodded and Finn almost thought he saw her lips move in a sort of self-motivational pep talk. "I met him my junior year at NYADA. He was a form of a TA to one of my horrendous dance classes. We had quite a bit in common at first and when my normal partner wasn't in class one day, Brody took his place. We clicked after that and started associating ourselves with each other outside of class. He asked me out and I said yes and then we started dating the summer before my senior year. Everything was fine. He was high maintenance in areas that I wasn't so it was kind of annoying at times, but, it worked, you know? Plus he was always telling me that if I found him annoying I was twice as much." She rolled her eyes like it didn't bother her and Finn felt himself starting to get angry at the thought of him ridiculing her like that. If only that was the worst of it.

"I told you about how he was pressuring me to move in with him and how he ended up across the hallway."

"You said things got messy soon after that. Why?" Finn asked, nudging her in the direction he wanted her to go in.

"This is really embarrassing, Finn." Rachel muttered quietly, so out of the ordinary for her. Finn hated seeing her with her confidence dropped. He kissed her softly in encouragement and squeezed her hands. "We were conversing one day and he asked me if I would ever considering participating in a threesome." She blurted out.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah," Rachel nodded, "that's what I said too."

"He wanted to bring another girl in and be with her while he was with you?" Finn asked, not understanding why anyone would need another girl when they had Rachel Berry as an option. Finn's eyebrows knitted together even tighter when Rachel didn't confirm his question, instead choosing to look down to the ground with an embarrassed and partly ashamed blush gracing her cheeks. "Baby?"

"He had a friend." She started. "I had only met him a few times and I had never really liked him – he always gave me the creeps." Finn's heart started pounding in his chest as the wheels started turning as he put the puzzle pieces as to where this was going together in his mind. "Brody knew this but…he asked me to considering sleeping with him. I was shocked, as I deserved to be, and I said no."

"And then you broke up?" Finn asked tensely, praying she said yes and this is where it ended. She shook her head, denying his wishes.

"We didn't talk about it for about two weeks. Things were a little awkward but they were going better. Then Ryan, his friend, was there in his apartment one night when Brody told me to come over." Rachel swallowed thickly as she took a breath. "He called me 'baby' when I came in and I told him not to call me that. Then he said he was looking forward to our night together."

Finn's blood was boiling and flecks of red started appearing in his vision. This wasn't going where he thought it was going to go.

"I told him no such night was going to occur and when Brody found out what he said then he would be very upset. Then he laughed. He _laughed_. He said that Brody was the one that had planned the night. It was just going to be the two of us there because Brody had decided he didn't want to participate." Rachel shook her head like she still couldn't believe it happened. "He had stood up and had started to walk toward me – so I pulled my pepper spray on him." Finn had noticed with appreciation that Rachel carried pepper spray on a key ring on her keys for her apartment. It was a small container – but it would still do the job. "He said he wasn't into that 'kinky shit' and that wasn't going to fly with him. Well I told him the night wasn't going to fly with me and that I had no idea where he got the idea from that I would ever agree to it. Then he said something that left me really confused – he said that our boy Brody owed it to him as his debt and that after that night everything would be worked out." Rachel let out a bitter laughing, shaking her head as anger started to seep into her voice.

"Debt?" Finn demanded. Rachel took notice of his rigid form and tense voice, and not to mention the grip he had on her, and knew there was nothing she could do to calm him. She knew he was going to react like this.

"I had always known that Brody was really competitive and made some bets, but it was just small things. Twenty bucks here and there, the bar tab on occasions, clean up duty, stuff like that. But then I discover that sometimes he would make bets for a few hundred dollars – but he would never lose so he got cocky. Then one night Ryan bet him on something big and said that if he wins, it was five thousand dollars or a night with his girl."

"He bet you?" Finn asked in shock.

"He should have never taken that bet." Rachel said in confirmation. "Brody had always told me he loved me, and when my name was brought into it – especially in that context – he should have just backed down. But Brody didn't know how to do that. So he took it. Then he lost." Finn's thoughts were clouded in his anger and all he could think about was going and beating the absolute _life_ out of this guy. He had put Rachel in danger – severe danger. "And he didn't even consider just paying him the money. I think that's what hurt the most when I found out. He could have just come clean with me and I would have even helped him pay him off. He tried to compromise with him, and said he would only let it go down if he was there too. I guess he thought he was trying to protect me. Then when I said no to a threesome he told the guy that I agreed to a night alone with him. It was just to buy him more time in putting off a payment." Rachel said, the disgust clear in her voice.

"And he just let you walk into that?"

She nodded, "I was processing everything and I didn't realize he started moving again until he put his hands on me. I remember panicking." Rachel muttered, shaking her head. "I truly thought that I wasn't going to make it out of that apartment without having to do something with him, Finn. I was angry as hell and I was going to put up a fight but he was so much bigger than me and he had me backed against a wall." Rachel hated that tears were starting to flood her eyes and Finn felt like he couldn't breathe. Someone had put his hands on Rachel, _his_ Rachel – he was going to kill both him and the guy that had put her in that situation.

"Please tell me you got away from him somehow, Rach. Please." Finn begged, running his hand through her hair and leaning his forehead against hers. She nodded shortly.

"Brody realized what an absolute idiot he was for putting me in that situation and came back right when Ryan was trying to kiss me. The door startled him and I used the opportunity to kick him and put my pepper spray to good use. He was on the ground and Brody had the audacity to ask me if I was okay and try to grab me when I was walking past him. I didn't want to hear anything he had to say so I slapped him and stormed off. Santana wasn't home that night so I locked myself in my room and thanked my lucky stars for it not being as bad as it could have been and also for never giving Brody a key to my apartment like he wanted because I heard him pounding on the door for almost two hours." She paused from her recollection of what had happened over a year ago and took a deep breath before starting again.

"I didn't talk to him until the next night when Santana came home. She didn't know anything of what had happened so she let him in the apartment. She went to her room and Brody came into mine." She took another deep breath. "We had never gotten into a fight like that one. It's like every secret we had in the two years of our relationship just got spilled onto the table and the names we called each other were ridiculous. But what really got me was that after he saw that I wasn't going to accept his apology, he tried to blame it all on me. I had been yelling at him about putting me at risk and not manning up and being a good boyfriend when he said the situation wouldn't have even happened if I would have just gone along with his original plan and let it happen when he could at least be there to protect me and make sure nothing got out of line. If I wouldn't have been so uptight and tried something new, then he wouldn't have even had to consider leaving me alone with him. He had a hold of me so tightly and he was so mad."

"Did he hit you?" Finn demanded. Rachel sighed and looked away from him. "Rachel. I need to know. Did. He. Hit. You." Finn repeated, cupping her face and turning it to face him so he could look at her properly. She shook her head no with another small sigh, resting her hand on top of one of his. She turned her face just the slightest bit to kiss his palm.

"Santana had been being her typical self and had been eavesdropping on the other side of the door and when I screamed she took that as her cue to come in and saw that he had pushed me against the wall. She kicked him out and I guess he knew that if he didn't she was going to follow through on her threat of calling the cops."

"You never called the cops?" Finn nearly yelled. Rachel sighed and shook her head negatively. "Rachel!"

"It's all done with, Finn. I ended things with him officially a week later. He would make stupid comments when we would see each other in passing and he would text me every once in awhile but he knew things were done. He hasn't tried anything with me in a long time, and he hasn't put his hands on me in even longer."

Finn sighed in a millimeter of relief. The anger coursing through him prevented him from calming down too much. "What changed? There was a whole screen full of messages on your phone, Rachel."

"I got the part as Elphaba three months after everything had happened with him. It filled up my time and I spent all my free time doing things that made me happy. I hadn't dated or hooked up with anybody, and the only guy that ever really comes to my apartment is Jesse, and Brody knows my relationship with him, even if he always thought we were sleeping together."

Finn closed his eyes as understanding washed over him. "Until me."

"Until you." Rachel confirmed. "I don't know, I guess Brody expected me to never be with another man, and that's his own idiocy. He's having a rough time accepting the fact that I moved on, regardless of the fact that plenty of women have gone in and out of that apartment of his. But I don't care, Finn. I don't care about him."

"But I care about you, Rachel, and I don't like that this guy is bothering you. God damnit, even now!" Her phone was lighting up beside him again and it frustrated him beyond belief.

"Look at me, baby." Rachel moved from sitting across his lap to straddling his thighs. She held his face in her hands. "I don't want you worrying about this."

"You're delusional if you think I won't."

"You're going to war, Finn." Rachel whispered, leaning her forehead against his and closing her eyes and he got a sense of just how vulnerable she was. "You're leaving in two days and I-I don't know what I'm going to do if you don't come home. I can't have myself thinking that you're distracted because of me."

"Rachel.."

"I mean it, Finn. Please? Please just let it go. Brody knows better than to come near me. Please, Finn." She was begging him and the look on her face was breaking his heart. Tears were shining in her eyes and she was genuinely worried over him. He sighed, knowing he had to appease her.

"Okay." He whispered, kissing her softly. "As long as you're sure."

"I am." She kissed him again, threading her fingers through his short hair. "I promise. Now let's just forget about this, okay?" He nodded, giving her a false, tight smile.

She pecked his lips again before standing up off of his lap. "Now I'm going to fix my make up and get dressed."

"I'll wait for you in the living room." When Rachel disappeared into the bathroom, dress in hand, Finn made his way out of her room and into the open space of the living room and the kitchen. Santana was sitting at the bar with her laptop in front of her and cocked an eyebrow at Finn when he stopped in front of her.

"Something I can do for you, soldier boy?" She asked, taking a sip from her water bottle. Finn nodded. "Well, what is it?"

"I need a favor."

"You have a dangerous glint in your eye and something is telling me I'm going to enjoy where you're going with this."

"Rachel told me about Brody." The name tasted like acid coming off of his tongue and he tried to refrain himself from kicking over the stool next to him.

Santana snapped her laptop shut as soon as the words exited through his lips. "Tell me what you need."

"Time."

"Time?" Santana repeated with a raised eyebrow.

Finn nodded, looking past her to make sure Rachel was still in the bathroom. "You know that I plan full and well to spend every minute with Rachel while I'm here."

Santana cut him off with an eye roll. "Yeah, it's kind of disgusting."

"Don't be jealous, Santana. Anyway. I need a half hour without her here."

"What are you planning?"

"I just want to talk to him." Santana rolled her eyes. "And talking sometimes leads to other things." She made a noise of agreement.

"So you want me to drag her out of here away from you for awhile?" When Finn nodded, Santana kept going. Finn was amazed at how quickly she could form a plan. "Okay, so you two are going to go to dinner. Then you're going to text me when you're on your way back here and I'll call Rachel and ask her to bring me my insurance card to the twenty-four hour pharmacy down the street because they won't let me pick up my prescription without it. I've forgotten it before when I've gone to pick up my allergy medicine so she shouldn't think anything of it. Ask her if she wouldn't mind if you stay here – "

"I don't want her walking down the dark street at night by herself."

"You're acting like she hasn't lived here for years and has done it plenty of times." She looked at him pointedly and he sighed, waving his hand for her to continue. She nodded in approval of his submission. "So you're going to ask her if she minds if you stay here – tell her you have to make a phone call concerning your impending departure into the depths of Hell or something." He rolled his eyes at her analogy. "Its about a ten minute walk and I'll convince her to wait for me and I'll shop around a little bit – it should give you plenty of time to kill him and hide the evidence if you need too." Santana concluded. "Give me your phone." He pulled said device from his pocket and, after unlocking it, placed it in her outstretched palm. She was handing it back to him just as Rachel appeared from the bathroom.

"Ready!" She announced, smiling at the two of them brightly and it looked as if she had never even been upset.

He let his eyes sweep over her slowly and he couldn't help but have his breath catch in his throat. She was in a tight deep plum colored dress that stopped about mid-thigh and hugged her curves in ways he was definitely planning on appreciating later. The matching heels on her feet made her legs look longer and her frame look taller. She really was gorgeous. "You look stunning, baby." Finn said honestly, realizing he hadn't said it before because he was too concerned with her romantic history.

She smiled broadly up at him and rose on her tip toes just the slightest bit to place a small kiss on his cheek. "Are you going to be here when we get back?" She asked, turning to look at Santana. The Latina shrugged. "We'll see. I have some errands I need to run and I'm staying at Dani's tonight – don't look at me like that." Rachel had risen and dropped her eyebrows a few times in response to her roommates comment and let out a giggle when she was called out on it. "So you might see me and you might not – either way you'll have the apartment to yourselves to fuck like rabbits."

"Santana!" Rachel admonished, hitting her with her grey sparkly clutch while Finn just laughed.

"Don't try and deny it, Rachel. You know it's true. You really shouldn't be shamed by it." Rachel just sighed, slightly exasperated. She slipped her hand into Finn's and started tugging him toward the door without another word. Finn met Santana's eyes right before they exited her line of vision and nodded at her. She nodded back and Finn was glad she was there to help him with this. The tall soldier pulled the small girl holding his hand close to him on the elevator. Right now she was what he needed and wanted to focus on – he would deal with that nuisance later. And he _would_ deal with it.

* * *

**So on a scale of one to ridiculous, how did you guys find Brody and Rachel's history to be? I was a little hesitant with going with what I went with, but it seemed like the best idea that wasn't too extreme but that also wasn't just something as simple as cheating. I'm not really a simple kinda girl, most of the time. Let me know your thoughts, please! I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible! **

**Review! **

**xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** **While I was a bit disappointed by the lack of response to the last chapter, I wanted to go ahead and post this chapter now anyway. I'm going on Fall Break from school this week so I don't know how much time I'll have in for writing or even being on my computer while I'm home. **

**Enjoy, and don't forget to review, please! I leave on Wednesday so maybe if the response is better for this chapter I can get another one written and published before I leave! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Nine_

* * *

The knock Finn landed on the door was rougher than what he anticipated. The night had been truly amazing, if he was honest with himself. He and Rachel had dinner with Kurt and Blaine and it had been blissful. Rachel had left him alone, Santana's insurance card in hand, and he gave himself a five-minute safety period before exiting her apartment.

But now Finn found himself outside of Brody's apartment and any and all anger that he felt toward the boy – and admittedly his frustration at his impending deployment – was slithering through him at a quick, alarming pace. He had pushed it away before for Rachel's sake. Alas, Finn had never been known for his patience or for having a good temper. This wasn't something he was going to let go unsettled.

He heard movement inside the apartment close to the door, but it didn't open. He pounded on it again, harder this time. "Open the fucking door, Brody." He seethed. His closed fist continued to hit against the wood. "Be a man." He called out.

Taunting him must have worked, because the door opened not a moment later. "Can I help you with something?" Brody asked as soon as Finn came in view.

"I think you and I need to have a little chat."

"And what is it that you could possibly want to talk with me about?" Brody asked with a roll of his eyes. The smirk on his face irritated Finn to no end.

"Rachel. But you already knew that."

An irritated look passed across Brody's face and he went to close the door. "I have nothing to say to you about her."

Finn's palm slammed against the dark wood. He took pleasure in the shock on the shorter man's face, as the door abruptly stopped closing at his will. "Then you're gonna listen." He growled, pushing Brody into the apartment without touching him but simply by walking toward him. "You're gonna leave Rachel the hell alone."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because she wants absolutely nothing to do with you." Finn snapped. "And if you know what's good for you then you'll do what I say and leave her the hell alone."

"I hear you." Brody responded, but Finn shook his head.

"Nah, I don't think you do." He took another step closer, to which Brody stepped back. "You're going to delete her number. Ignore her if you pass by her. Seize to fucking exist to her after tonight. Do you understand?" Finn was almost eerily calm on the outside. He was standing almost chest-to-chest with him, and when Brody didn't respond to him, that's when the façade fell. The tone he used with his soldiers took over his voice and a flash of fear crossed the oppositions face. "I said, _do you understand_?"

"I understand what you want," was the beginning of Brody's response, "but Rachel is a hard person to stay away from."

Finn twitched. "Then you better learn to fucking fight through the temptation."

"We were together for two years. You've been together what, four days? That doesn't even begin to compare to what we had."

He felt his fist connect with Brody's jaw before he even processed he was swinging. He caught himself on the edge of the couch, touching his now sensitive skin as he glared at Finn. He was predictable, and Finn grabbed his wrist when he swung it at him while simultaneously catching Brody off guard with a right hook to the nose, then again to the opposite side of his jaw. He took his arm and twisted it behind his back. His knee went into Brody's lower back and he fell to his knees. "She told me what you did to her, you son of a bitch." Finn growled, bending Brody's arm at a horrible angle and tightening his grip. The ken-doll like male groaned. "You set her up to get fucking _raped._ Because of a fucking bet!" He yelled while releasing his arm and kicking him forward.

"What the hell kind of man are you, huh?" Finn kneeled down to get in Brody's face, a menacing look overcoming his. "No, that's right, you aren't one, are you?" He let out a single humorless laugh, shaking his head. "Any idea you have about getting back together with her, or hooking up with her again? Get it out of your head, right now. It's not going to happen. You fucking disgust me, and as for her? The thought of you repulses her." He spit out through gritted teeth. "You lost any chance you ever had with Rachel. Accept that."

Finn stood up then, straightening his jacket and rolling his neck as he glared down at Brody. Finn's foot connected with his stomach and he groaned. "Stay the hell away from my girl, Weston. And if you don't…the next time we meet will be far, far worse." He spit out at him, turning on his toes. He couldn't resist the urge of knocking over the small table by the door on his way out. The slamming of the door echoed in the hallway and Finn stood still for a moment.

He shook his hand out, not even feeling any pain but knowing it would come later. He was resisting the urge from putting his fist through the plaster of the hallway wall and settled for twisting his body and punching at the air instead. He let out a yell of frustration. He was absolutely seething, but he knew when his phone buzzed in his pocket with a text from Santana saying they were heading back now, that he had to start calming down.

He returned to their apartment, sitting on the couch and he took several deep breaths through his nose. You handled it, he told himself, now get yourself the fuck together. His heartbeat was returning to normal as he came down from his adrenaline high just as the door opened. He stood up, managing a tight smile in the women's direction. Rachel grinned at him as she made her way to him and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Isn't that adorable." Santana quipped, "the munchkin and the Jolly Green Giant."

"Seriously?" Finn snorted, "That's the best you could come up with?" He met eyes with the Latina briefly, and gave her a single nod over Rachel's head at her raised eyebrow.

She smirked and shrugged at him. "I'm having an off day, I guess." She relented, and he knew she was only doing it for his benefit. He had taken care of something she wished she could have a long time ago. "I'm heading out. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. Be safe, kiddies! Don't get too wild."

She playfully growled at them, raking her fingers through the air like a cat as she walked out the door. Rachel scoffed. "She's unbelievable."

"She's alright," Finn responded back. He pulled her close to him and nuzzled his face in her hair. He let the scent of her wash over him and calm him.

"Are you alright?" She asked, rubbing his back. He nodded into her neck, placing a soft kiss through her hair before pulling back just the slightest bit. He rubbed his nose against hers before pecking her lips. "I'm just feeling really grateful right now, is all." At her questioning look, Finn continued on. "You deserve to be loved Rachel. I'm so glad I'm the one you're letting do that."

He had never spoken truer words.

* * *

"You're so beautiful." Finn's voice was barely above a whisper as he brushed some of Rachel's hair out of her face.

"You make me feel beautiful." She responded, just as quiet as the tall man lying beside her. He sent her a small smile and kissed her forehead. It was nearing five o'clock in the morning, and the two had just woken up. They didn't have any alarms set, nor were they disturbed. It was almost like they knew the other was waking up and woke up with them. Finn could hear the rain outside, and he thought it was incredibly fitting.

In less than twelve hours, he would be on the almost 20 hour flight to Iraq.

For the first time in his entire military career, Finn felt dread. He had been excited when he went to basic training. When he found out he was deploying for the first time and when he got on the plane to go, he felt anticipation. He wanted to fight and he wanted to be good at his job. When he was over there, it was almost a pure adrenaline rush the whole entire time. He loved his family and he of course wanted to go back home to them, but at the end of the day he still felt that he had nothing to lose. Then he was being chivalrous in a bar that he didn't even want to go to in the first place and he met this beautiful girl.

Rachel changed everything for him.

He didn't want to go. He just couldn't picture himself leaving her. But he had a job to do and for the first time in his life he hated it.

Her nails scratched against his scalp as she ran her fingers through his cropped cut. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she tried her best to memorize every feature of his face. Her voice cracked with emotion. "I've never pictured myself in this position before."

"Me either." He spoke honestly. He was surprised when his voice cracked like hers had.

"Can I tell you something?" She asked quietly. He nodded and she gave him a sad smile as a tear dropped onto the pillow under her cheek. "I love you."

"Yeah?" He asked quietly. She nodded,

"Yeah."

It was slow and passionate as he made love to her in the early hours of the morning. Finn was savoring the moment, of the feel of her surrounding him and of her skin against his. He squeezed her hand that was intertwined with his. She moaned quietly, but no words were shared between the two as their bodies moved together as one in perfect sync. It was incredibly bittersweet, and they both felt their hearts breaking knowing this was the last time they would get to be connected like this for a very long while.

Rachel cried out his name as she came. She clutched him to her like a lifeline as she felt him join her in bliss. She was incredibly still as her breathing evened out, and with Finn's body pressed completely against hers with his face buried in her neck, it wasn't hard to feel the shaking of his body. "Finn?" She asked in concern, trying to turn his head so he would look at her. He shook it vigorously and she swore she felt wetness on her skin. "Baby?"

"I don't want to leave you," he choked out. There was a deep, heaving sob threatening to overcome him. He didn't remember the last time he had felt this emotional, especially in the presence of somebody else.

"Oh Finn," Rachel whimpered, forcing him to look at her. Tears shined in his eyes and she knew hers matched. "You have to come home." She demanded, "You have to come home so we can be together."

He nodded, and she kissed at his tears. She knew this was going to be the only time he let himself be this vulnerable today. He buried his face in her hair again, and she clutched him to her.

She didn't know how she was going to get through today.

* * *

The New York sky was dark gray in color at 4:00 that afternoon. Clouds were overhead and it looked like it could start pouring at any willing moment, drenching all of those that stood outside at the departure site at Fort Hamilton. Rachel took in her surroundings. There were so many families here. So many soldiers dressed in the same camouflage uniform that would soon be boarding a bus that would take them to their plane on the other side of the base.

How could people deal with this for so long?

"Your bow-tie is whack, Princess." Rachel turned when she heard a voice she didn't recognize extremely close to her. He was dressed in uniform and was holding the hand of a beautiful blonde woman while his other arm held a small girl against his side. She had her head against his shoulder and her thumb was in her mouth. She was a perfect combination of the two adults. Walking beside him though was Finn, and Rachel was grateful when he wrapped his arms around her. He had left the small group about half an hour ago to make sure all of his guys were accounted for and ready to go.

"I find that highly insulting, Puckerman. I wore it for the occasion." Kurt spit out, adjusting said bow tie. It was red white and blue, and Kurt had deemed it fitting to wear on an Army base. The name registered in Rachel's mind and she knew this was Finn's best friend that he had told her so much about, along with his wife and child, who was Finn's Goddaughter.

"Well I think you might have insulted America in the process." He bit back, rolling his eyes when his wife hit him in the chest with his free hand, telling him to be nice.

"Thank you, Quinn." Kurt responded with a smile, which transformed into a glare as he looked at her husband. The dark haired soldier simply rolled his eyes before they moved to Rachel.

"You gonna introduce us to your girl, Huddy?"

"I was going to see how long you two bickered back and forth – you know I don't interrupt that when it happens." Finn responded, before motioning back and forth between the strangers. "Rachel, this is my best friend Puck, his wife Quinn and my adorable goddaughter Beth." He tickled her stomach and sent her a playful smile as he said her name, to which the little girl giggled and swatted his hand away. "Guys this is Rachel, and her best friend Santana."

"It's good to meet the girl who put that glint in this ones eye." Quinn smiled kindly, leaning into her husbands side after shaking the brunettes hand. Rachel just forced a smile.

"Yeah, even if it happened out of fucking nowhere." Puck snorted. Quinn smacked him in the back of the head and he muttered an apology as he rubbed the now tender spot.

The group stood around for the next fifteen minutes, making small talk and lightly getting to know each other. Rachel didn't speak much, and had her arms wound tightly around Finn the entire time. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes when the loud, booming voice of the Company Commander was heard over the crowd. "Bravo Company! Time to say your goodbyes! On the bus and ready to go in ten!" She clutched at him tighter and felt him gulp. He kissed her hair and pushed her away from him lightly. Santana took his place and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as Finn went over to first embrace Quinn.

"Watch out for my husband, Finn." Rachel heard her say.

"You know I will." He whispered something to her that Rachel couldn't hear. "Please look out for Rachel while I'm gone. This is all new to her and it's happened so quickly. You're the only one that understands." Quinn nodded at him sadly and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"C'mere, Munchkin." Rachel wanted to let out a sob as she watched Finn take the small, blonde child into his arms for a moment. He looked so natural with her, and Rachel knew he would make an incredible father one day. He hugged her to him and kissed her hair before handing her back to her father, who Rachel saw cling to her tightly as Quinn wrapped her arms around both of them.

"Don't go back on our word." Finn requested simply as he hugged Blaine. Rachel didn't know what he was referring to and had no idea that it concerned her. He had spoken to Blaine when they got a moment alone that afternoon at lunch, informing him of the situation with Rachel and her nuisance of a neighbor. He knew Blaine had self defense training, and knew that if it came down to it he could do a much better job at physically protecting Rachel then his brother could, which is why he had asked him instead of Kurt. "And take care of my brother." Blaine had tears in his eyes as he pulled away. He gave Finn a tight smile and patted his shoulder as he moved to embrace his brother, who already had tears streaming down his face. "Don't cry on me, man."

"You know I can't help it." Kurt clung to him tightly for a long moment, and Rachel bit her lip to contain her sob. She looked away, suddenly feeling like she was interrupting a moment between the two vastly different brothers.

"I can't do this." She whimpered quietly.

"Yes you can." Santana's voice spoke in her ear and she squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. Rachel knew the main reason she was here was because she knew Rachel would be a wreck and she had to make sure she got home okay, but the paler of the two girls was still grateful for her best friend. She took a step away when Finn came over to the pair. He looked at Santana first.

"You stay safe over there, lurch. Chin up, head down."

"You get that out of a movie, Santana?"

"Googled it." She insisted.

Finn cracked a smile at the small Hispanic. "You know Marines are usually the ones to use that saying, right?"

"Do I care? If it fits it fits." She responded back. Finn just smiled and shook his head, holding his arms out. "Oh, you expect a hug from me too?" He just looked at her expectantly. Santana rolled her eyes and walked into his open arms. Finn was surprised at how tight her embrace ended up being. "Don't you dare think about not coming back to our girl, Hudson." She whispered seriously into his ear. It was the first time she had actually used his name, or at least a form of it, instead of some crude nickname and Finn knew she meant business.

He squeezed her tightly. "Don't let this get her down for long, Santana. Please." Emotion was starting to creep up on him, and he was surprised when Santana pulled away from him with the beginning signs of liquid shining in her eyes as well. She nodded at him, promising to do her best.

He sighed when he looked at the person he had saved for last. She had her arms crossed protectively over her, chewing on her emerald green thumb nail and tear stains on her cheeks. He was done for as soon as her eyes met his. "Rach." He strode over to her and took her in his arms. She threw her arms around him and let out the sob she had been containing.

"Please come back to me." She cried, choking on her tears. "Please Finn, please. Promise me." Every soldier who was set to deploy had been trained what to say in this situation. They were told to never say they absolutely would, because they couldn't guarantee a safe return every time. It would only hurt their families more if they got KIA. But knowing all of that didn't stop him from whispering the words in her ear.

"I promise." He cupped her cheeks, wiping the tears away with the pads of his thumb. "I don't plan on not being in this relationship forever, and I gotta be here to do that."

"Endgame." She choked out, and Finn managed a smile as he nodded.

"That's right. You and me are endgame, Rachel Berry. I'm going to come home to you."

She stood on her tiptoes to press her lips against his. He could taste the saltiness of her tears as he held onto her tightly. She whimpered into the kiss and tried to cling to him tighter.

"We gotta go, Finn." Puck spoke, seeing the sea of camouflage starting to form together.

Finn and Rachel broke apart slowly. "I'm going to miss you so much." He whispered, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against hers.

"I'm going to miss you too." She cried, "Will you write to me?"

"Every chance I get." He promised. She knew he meant it. "Write me back?"

She nodded quickly, sniffling and trying to get herself together. She reached into the pocket of her simple pale pink dress and pulled out a folded envelope. Her hands were shaking when she handed it to him. "To read on the plane." She explained through her tears. He kissed her again and swallowed thickly. He knew he had to go – he had to make sure all of his men were in order and ready to go.

"I gotta go, Rach."

Another sob wracked through her, and he kissed her one last time before letting go and grabbing his duffle bag off the ground and walking away with Puck by his side. He knew if he had prolonged it any longer, or if he looked back at her now, then he was likely to run away and go A-WOL.

Rachel let out a loud sob, clutching at her chest as he got further and further away from her. She felt Santana's arms wrap around her, holding her up when her knees started to give out. Unfamiliar hands rubbed up her arms. Her blurry eyes met Quinn's. The blonde had tears streaming down her face but managed to send her a watery smile as she wiped at Rachel's tears. "Try and get yourself together the best that you can for now." She advised. "I know it's hard," she took a deep breath to calm her own breathing, "I know it's hard, but you have to try and be strong – for Finn. If he looks back and he sees you like this it's going to be engraved into his mind and it's going to distract him. He needs to stay focused. You can lose it when they're gone – that's what I do."

Rachel knew her words were true, and did her best to take deep breaths as Quinn encouraged her. She choked as sobs tried to get through. Santana had her arms wrapped around her shoulders, and Quinn was rubbing her arm as she watched Finn guide people onto the buses. "Finn and Noah will watch out for each other. They always have."

"Finn said he was his battle brother." Rachel managed to get out, trying to get a grip on herself.

"They both have far too much to lose now to screw around and not come home." Quinn nodded, blowing a kiss and waving when Puck looked back at her right before he climbed on the bus.

Finn was one of the last people to board the bus. His rifle was slung over his shoulder and one foot was on the first step when he turned and met Rachel's eyes from over a hundred yards away. He kissed two of his fingers and moved them to his heart before holding them out to her. She placed her own hand over her heart in recognition of his action. She closed her eyes as her body shook when he turned away from her. It wasn't but a few more moments after that when the doors closed and the buses began moving away.

When she knew they were out of site, Rachel felt herself sag as she let the sobs overcome her. Santana pressed her against her hard as Quinn took Beth from Blaine's arms, holding the small girl tightly as she silently cried.

"Shh," Santana whispered against her hair, rocking her slightly. "It'll be okay, Rachie." Rachel just cried into her chest. She felt like her heart had been ripped away from her.

"I want to go home." She finally cried out.

"Okay," Santana soothed, "okay. Let's go home."

Deep down, though, Santana knew the home to Rachel was not their apartment in the city. No, home was with the tall soldier that had come into their lives and changed them in such a short time, and who had just left with half of her best friend's heart.

* * *

**So what did you guys think?! Did Finn give Brody a good enough beat down? Was Finchel's goodbye as sad as what you thought it was going to be or didn't I capture it well enough? I struggled with this chapter much more than I thought I would. I've been through the deployment process a few times before with my brothers, and my dad also works over seas, but of course that's completely different than writing from the romance perspective. **

**So let me know what you thought, and maybe I'll manage another chapter this week! **

**xx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: PLEASE READ. **

**Hey guys! I'm so so so thankful for all the reviews for the last chapter! I know I said if I got enough reviews than I would get the chapter up before I left on Wednesday, and when I saw the response that I was getting I started working on it and had it about halfway done by Monday night. Unfortunately, I went and got a concussion shortly after. The doctor told me not to strain myself and to steer clear of computer screens for awhile since I'm already prone to migraines and severe headaches. Needless to say, I've been down for the count the last week. I'm so sorry that I didn't get this up before! I just wanted to explain to you guys my reasoning and hope that you guys understand!**

**Here's the next chapter, and I'm already working on the next one! **

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Ten _

* * *

"It's not fair." Rachel muttered, playing with a stray thread on the blanket that covered her as tears welled up in her eyes again. She was amazed she had any left from all the crying she had done today. She was laying with her head on Santana's lap, the thin dark haired girl running her fingers through Rachel's lighter colored hair.

"I know, honey." Santana responded, and really, she did understand in her own way.

It had only been a few hours since they had returned home to their apartment from Fort Hamilton, and Rachel had cried herself to sleep a little over an hour ago. The nap was short lived. Santana knew she had been awake for a while. Old episodes of Pretty Little Liars played through Netflix on the TV in from of them as they lapsed back into silence.

Caleb had just been hauled away in the ambulance after being shot by Maya's supposed cousin turned stalker when there was a knock on the door.

"You want me to get that, or ignore it?" Santana asked, looking down at the girl lying with her head in her lap. Rachel sighed and sat up, curling herself into a ball in the corner of the couch. Santana took that as her cue to get up.

"Hey, Satan."

"St. Singalot, how nice to see you." Jesse rolled his eyes at one of the several nicknames Santana had for him.

"You gonna let me in so I can put this in the freezer before it melts?" He asked, holding up the bag that contained a carton of vegan chocolate ice cream. Santana took it from him as she moved to aside to let him in, moving toward the kitchen to put it away herself. "Hey superstar." Jesse said softly, taking a seat on the coffee table directly across from Rachel's curled up form. "How you doin'?" Rachel shrugged, gripping her blanket tighter. "Rachel?"

"My heart feels like it actually hurts, Jesse. Like…there's this rubber band around it and I can't – I can't hardly breath." Rachel spoke honestly, tears spilling over. Jesse looked at her sadly.

"Is there anything that I can do?"

"Not unless you can bring him back."

"I can't do that, but I did bring you some ice cream."

"I'm not very hungry." Rachel admitted.

"Have you eaten today?"

"I had lunch with Finn and his brother, before…" She trailed off, and Jesse knew where she was going with it. He sighed and gave her a sad smile, squeezing her knee through the blanket.

"I'm here." He told her, and she managed a weak smile in his direction and a nod before leaning her head back against the couch. He sighed, knowing his best friend was hurting and there really wasn't anything he could do for her right now. This was a tough situation. He got up and walked into the kitchen. "This is going to be a rough for awhile, isn't it?"

Santana nodded at his comment. Rachel Berry was always one for dramatics, and they knew this was going to be one of the hardest things she's ever dealt with.

* * *

_My Dearest Finn,_

_I didn't know you a week ago, and the thought is so strange to me, for it feels like I have been in your acquaintance my whole entire life and even the lives before this one. You came into my life so suddenly and so unexpectedly. I never understood how people moved into relationships so quickly. For me, loving someone always took time – normally a significant abundance of time. _

_But you, as I'm learning, are the only exception to that._

_I loved you from the moment I saw you, I think. I remember meeting your eyes across the bar and thinking, "I could spend the rest of my existence staring into those eyes." _

_Then when I got to know you, I could truly picture myself with you forever. You would get out of the military and would have a teaching job somewhere, gifting children with the art of music, and I would finish my career on Broadway. I would maybe do a Woody Allen movie or two, and then we would settle down in a house in Ohio or New York, wherever we ended up, with smaller versions of ourselves running around. And we would be so, so happy._

_I don't want to have to ponder what could be. I want all those things to become a reality one day, so I need you to come home, okay? I need you to come home because I'm selfish and I want you with me. This is going to be the hardest year of my life. We moved quickly but I don't care. All I care about is how I feel about you. Incase I didn't work up the courage to express it to you before you departed I want you to know that I love you, Finn Christopher Hudson. I love you more than words can express, which is why I think I'm struggling with this letter. Writing has never really been my forte._

_When you wrote me that letter asking me to trust you, you said that your life had been nothing but black and white before you met me. I think, no, I know, that mine was the exact same, even if I didn't realize it and I thought I was perfectly content. You're what I didn't know I was missing. I feel beautiful when I'm in your presence. I don't feel like the annoying Jewish girl that I've had the reputation of being my whole entire life. I feel like you listen to me and you take everything I say into consideration. You make me want to be a better me, Finn._

_You're leaving tomorrow, and I don't know what I'm going to do without you. I think the craziest part of all of this is that I don't even really think it's crazy anymore. I'm so scared, Finn. So, so scared. I can't bring myself to tell you that in person. Please don't feel guilty, and please don't worry about me when you're away. Focus on your mission and what you're over there to do. I'll be okay here, waiting for you to return to me._

_You asked me if I would be here when you come home. Well incase you haven't figured it out the answer is yes. Since I met you, I simply cannot picture my life without you in it. I wouldn't dream of abandoning you._

_I think you'll be waking up soon, and admittedly I'm getting emotional and I know this is turning into a jumbled mess of nonsense, so I'm going to end this with the lyrics of one of my favorite songs that I'm deeming fit here._

_"I'll be waiting for you here inside my heart. I'm the one who wants to love you more. You will see I can give you everything you need – let me be the one to love you more."_

_I love you, Finn. Please stay safe and come home to me._

_With all my love,_

_Rachel xx_

It was quiet on the military transport aircraft. It always was when they were departing somewhere. Bags were strewn everywhere, being used as pillows and back supporters as some of the guys chose to spread out on the narrow isle on the ground instead of in their seats aligned against the wall and the center of the plane. Finn sat with his back against his seat, fighting with his emotions to keep himself from crying in front of the hundred soldiers surrounding him. Rachel's letter was clutched tightly in his hand.

"You alright, brother?" Finn closed his eyes, shaking his head at Puck's voice from where he was seated beside him. "That from Rachel?" When Finn nodded, Puck let out a sigh. "Shitty timing, huh?"

Finn managed a laugh. "Like you wouldn't believe, dude." A moment of silence passed between the two men before Finn let out a sigh. "Is this how it feels with Quinn and Beth? Like your hearts been ripped out of your chest and you're not breathing properly?"

"Basically."

"Does it get any easier?"

"It does." Puck assured with a nod.

"Yeah? When?"

Puck smirked sadly, resting his head against the wall behind him and meeting Finn's eyes. "When we get back on American soil." The taller of the two let out a groan of annoyance. That was a long way off from now. They had only been in the air for about 7 hours. "Tell me about Rachel, man. You were pretty brief before, but she seems pretty legit."

So Finn launched into the tail of everything that had transpired in the last six days, the ache in his heart easing up just the slightest bit as he talked about her.

It was going to be a really long year.

* * *

It was two weeks later that Rachel first heard from Finn. She knew he had gotten over there safely from Kurt, who told her Finn had called his mom and asked to relay the message, and also from Quinn who had heard from Noah. But hearing his voice was so much different, and so much more reassuring.

It was almost three o'clock in the morning on Saturday, and she had barely registered that her phone was ringing in her sleepy state. She hadn't been sleeping well since he left but refused to admit that to anybody but herself, even though she's pretty sure Santana knew. Her Mexican Third Eye, as she called it.

Her initial greeting was groggy and she felt herself falling back asleep. But then she heard his voice and she doesn't think she's ever sat up so quickly in bed before. "Hey, beautiful." She gasped out his name as relief washed over her. "Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry for waking you up but I really wanted to call."

"I'm so glad you did." She assured him. "How are you? Are you okay? You haven't gotten hurt or anything have you?"

He let out a chuckle and she could picture him grinning as he answered her questions in order. "I'm making it, fine, and no I haven't. Calm down baby."

"Oh Finn, it's so good to hear from you! I know Kurt told me that you had made it over there, but it's so much better to hear your voice."

"I'm sorry I couldn't call you – my mom would have flipped if I didn't let her know first."

"No, no it's okay. I know how close you and your mom are. I'm glad you called her instead. I'm just really happy to hear from you now."

"It's been really hectic over here or I would have called sooner." He apologized, and Rachel shook her head until she realized he couldn't see her.

"It's okay. I know you're busy."

"How are you?"

"I'm…" Rachel paused, looking for the words. She contemplated lying to him and telling him that he was fine, but she had a feeling he would take notice to it almost immediately regardless of her impeccable acting abilities. She settled on, "I'm making it. I've been keeping busy with work."

"How's that going?"

"Wonderfully."

"Good, good." It was quiet for a few moments as the two simply just listened to the others even breathing. After about a minute, Finn finally whispered, "I miss you, baby."

She felt tears welling up in her eyes and willed herself not to cry. Stay strong, she admonished herself. "I miss you too." She whispered quietly, trying her hardest to keep her voice from cracking.

"Thank you for the letter." She blushed remembering said paper she had given him when he left. "It meant a lot to me, Rach. I keep it in the pocket over my heart with your picture."

"Really?" Rachel wondered. She felt her heart melt when he murmured a soft 'mhm.' "That's really sweet."

"I try. Look, there's a line of guys behind me..." He started quietly, and her heart rate picked up and her eyes started welling up with tears again.

"I guess we have to say goodbye then, don't we?"

"I'm sorry, baby." He sighed. "I really wish we could talk longer, but we have a time limit today. But I'm gonna email you later when I get to my laptop with the address where you can send letters, okay?"

"Al-alright."

"Don't cry, Rach." He could hear the tears in her voice and she took a deep breath to try and stop them. "I'll call you as soon as I can, okay? I love you."

"I love you too." She promised.

"I love hearing you say that."

A blush appeared on Rachel's face and she managed to smile through the tears. "I love saying it. Stay safe, okay?"

"Always." It was quiet for a beat. "Bye, Rach." He whispered.

A tear dropped when she blinked and her voice cracked when she said the words back to him before removing her phone from her ear.

It felt like that phone call was over just a quickly as it had started. Would all of them be like that? She was happy to hear from him, but the relief she felt when the line was connected seemed to dissipate as quickly as it had come. She knew this was only the beginning.

* * *

The first letter she received came a week and a half after the phone call. It was short, but Finn had said he wanted to get one out when he could. Rachel hung onto every word that he wrote. She tried to picture the desert he described, and tried to feel the unbearable heat of the sun during the day and the chilling cold that the moon brought at night.

_"And to think I thought I remembered all of this perfectly from the last time I was stuck here. Silly me!" _He had wrote, and somehow Rachel knew he was trying to make her smile with his attempt at a joke.

She was sure that she read the letter at least ten times before picking up a pen and a notebook to respond to him.

She puts the letter in a decorative box and keeps it on the shelf her nightstand has. She tells him this the next time he calls and he cracks a smile and tells her that now it's like he's falling asleep right next to her.

The smile that takes over her face is sincere, but bittersweet. He's right, but the real thing would be so much better. They both know it, but neither has the will to say it out loud.

* * *

The rest of September and October slips away, and Rachel talks to Finn on webcam for the first time in the second week of November. She was sitting in her dressing room before a Saturday matinee when the notification came on her computer that he was inviting her to FaceTime. She was never more grateful that they both had Mac computers. His smile was just the tiniest bit pixilated, but it still took her breath away.

"Finn!" She squealed, her excitement getting the best of her.

"Hey baby!" He responded. He looked tired, she noted, but let him get away with acting like he wasn't. "It's so good to see that beautiful face of yours!"

"Not near as good as it is to see yours!" She responded with a giggle, "How are you?"

"I'm doing alright," he responded, nodding at her. "We have a bit of a down day today, and I know it's close to show time over there so I wanted to get up with you first before I got in contact with anybody else. Plus I kind of miss you the most." He admitted with a cheeky, lopsided grin.

Rachel's smile hadn't been this big since before he left. "Well isn't that sweet. I miss you soooo much!" She insisted.

He just smiled at her, returning the sentiment. "Tell me what's been going on." He requested. So she launched into everything that has happened to her in the last two months that he's been gone that she left out the last time they've talked, and she filled him in on almost every detail of the last week she's gone without any contact from him. They talked for almost 45 minutes, and he was still on the screen after she got green and into her first outfit for the show.

"I don't want to go." She pouted at him, and Finn let out a small laugh.

"From what I hear, you missed enough work." She blushed at his pointed look, playing with the hem of her jacket. She neither denied nor encouraged his accusation. "I'm sorry if I'm making you sad, baby."

"I know you would be here if you could." She assured him. The announcement of her five-minute warning came through the intercom.

"I guess you gotta go, huh?" Rachel sighed and nodded sadly. "Break a leg, baby."

"I'm Rachel Berry – of course I'll be putting on a stellar performance."

Finn let out a laugh, smiling at her lovingly. "Of course. I love you."

"And I love you. Call me as soon as you can?"

"Promise."

She bid him farewell, and that familiar dreadful feeling she always got after talking to him crept back up on her as she disconnected their conversation and closed her laptop. The relief she felt only seemed to stay for as long as she heard his voice. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Two months down, and about ten more to go; she just wished this awful sick feeling she had in her stomach would go away and she could focus on that.

* * *

**Please take the time to review! Do you guys want to see some of Finn's thoughts like you're seeing Rachel's? I can make it happen, just let me guys know what you want! Any ideas that you have definitely send my way in a PM or in a review. I'm always willing to take what you guys want to see into consideration! **

**Next chapter will be up in the next few days because I already have a good chunk of it written. **

**Let me know your thoughts! **

**xx**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: I know it's a little later than what I normally post, but I've been faithful with always getting a chapter up on Sunday and I didn't want to mess that up! This one was kind of hard to write, but I hope it's not too hard to read! **

**IMPORTANT: Any offensive comments that were made are clearly fictional and in no way were meant to offend anybody that may be reading. Military talk is military talk, and that's something that can really be altered. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Eleven_

* * *

It was in the first week of January that Rachel was to meet Finn's mother and stepfather, Carole and Burt. She was nervous, to say the least, and Rachel Berry simply didn't normally do nervous. She rubbed the star pendant from the necklace she was wearing between her fingers and bit her lip as she waited. Finn had ordered the necklace and had it sent to Santana to wrap and give to Rachel for Christmas from him, and the only time she took it off was when she was on stage. He had managed to get her on webcam on Christmas day and simply just smiled and told her, "You said metaphors were important, so I figured the star is a metaphor for how wonderful you are." He had no idea that stars were kind of her thing in high school, and if she had any doubts of him being the one for her that simple statement changed her mind completely.

Finn was on a mission now, and it had been over a week since she had any contact with him. No ims, no phone calls, no emails. Just silence, and it was nerve-wracking to her. Kurt had called her after they celebrated New Years together – they had become very close, those two – and told her that his parents were coming to visit and wanted to meet her while they were in the city. Rachel agreed immediately and that was how she found herself sitting in one of the five chairs around the table in a somewhat secluded area of one of her favorite restaurants. It was Monday, her day off, and Kurt had texted her about fifteen minutes ago that they were running late because of traffic but should be there momentarily.

She found herself thinking of Finn, and wishing he could be here to introduce her to his mother instead of having his stepbrother do it. She wished he were here holding her hand, because then maybe she wouldn't feel so nervous. She was so caught up in her wishing that she didn't notice the people approaching her until Kurt's voice alerted her.

"Diva!" She jumped just the slightest bit, and then let out a quiet laugh at herself as she stood to give Kurt and Blaine each a respective hug. "You look wonderful!"

"Thank you," Rachel responded, running her hands down the front of her long sleeved, burgundy colored dress that stopped above her knees. It was chiffon, and a slim, nude belt was around her waist that matched the pumps on her feet. "Someone pretty awesome made this for me." She said with a wink.

"That man should be awarded something." Kurt couldn't help but beam, knowing he was the one that made her that dress as a Christmas present and knowing that she sincerely liked it. Kurt worked as a designer and had slowly but surely been compiling quite the client list for himself.

"He should." Rachel agreed with a giggle.

"Let me make introductions!" Kurt announced, taking Rachel's hand and turning to the rest of the group that had been watching them interact. "Rachel this is Finn's mother Carole, and my dad Burt Hummel. Guys, this is Rachel Berry, the Broadway extraordinaire that also happens to be Finn's girlfriend."

Rachel blushed slightly and held out her hand. "Mr. and Mrs. Hummel."

Carole couldn't help but smile and shake her head at the gesture. Rachel was only confused for a second before the older, kind looking woman stepped forward and embraced her. "It's so good to meet the girl my son has told me so much about."

"Finn talks about me?" Rachel couldn't help but ask. Carole pulled back and kept her hands on Rachel's arms.

She laughed slightly. "He talks about you all the time, dear. You don't know how many YouTube links he's sent me of some of your performances."

Rachel blushed, suddenly very, very embarrassed. She had no idea Finn had talked about her as much as he did, let alone send evidence.

"You're very talented, Rachel. With a voice like that I don't think you'll have any problem keeping my step son in line." Rachel's blush increased at Burt's words, but she thanked him nonetheless.

"Let's sit, shall we?" Blaine asked, and everyone nodded in agreement before taking his or her seats and picking up their menus.

* * *

"We got tickets for your show tomorrow, Rachel." Kurt announced about half an hour later as they ate their entrees.

"I could have gotten you tickets," Rachel admonished lightly, and Kurt rolled his eyes.

"That's what I told these two," He said, pointing to the older couple at the table. "But they wouldn't listen and insisted on buying them themselves."

"Well thank you for contributing to the show," Rachel spoke honestly, "but next time just let me know and I can set up tickets for you."

"Well we appreciate that, it's very sweet." Carole smiled. She had a good feeling about Rachel, and pretty much everyone at the table could sense that from the smiles she kept sending her and the praise she was handing out. "I've never been to a Broadway performance before," she said thoughtfully, "how do you do it?" she wondered.

Rachel cocked her head to the side, "Do what, exactly?"

"Get up there and perform every night. Is it live every time? The singing, I mean. Or is it pre-recorded?"

"It's live, for all eight shows a week." Rachel assured, wiping at her lips with her napkin. "Lots and lots of breathing techniques and vocal exercise." She explained at the somewhat shocked looks. "And not to mention monthly trips to the doctor. The minute he says that vocal rest is needed is the minute we stop talking until we're cleared. And we always have our standby and our understudy there if we don't feel we're up to performing. It's much more work than what people realize, but it's what I love to do."

"Have you always wanted to be on Broadway?" Burt wondered, "even though it was risky?"

"Always. I never pictured myself not on a stage, you know? I knew since I was very little that I loved to sing. My dads took me to see Annie when I was a child and that's when I knew that Broadway was it for me. Either I was going to make it on Broadway or my name wasn't Rachel Berry." She laughed quietly at the memory; "I think I was a little melodramatic when I said that."

"You're very ambitious." Carole noted with an appreciative smile.

"Thank you." Rachel spoke, nodding in agreement. The waiter came over to refill their drinks, and conversation flowed comfortably after that over a variety of different topics.

* * *

"You don't know how thankful I am for you." Carole confided when the two were left alone Tuesday night after the show, and Rachel gave her a pondering look. "I've never heard my son so motivated or driven to come home before. And that's because he wants to come home to you, dear." Rachel couldn't help the tears that welled up in her eyes as her emotions went into overdrive. Hearing the words from Finn were different than hearing the words from his mother, the woman who raised him and knew him best. "He loves you."

"I love him," Rachel whispered, and she accepted the hug that Carol initiated. "I wish he were here." She spoke through her tears.

"He will be," Carole soothed, feeling tears of her own enter her eyes. "I'm so happy he found you."

The older woman would never understand just how happy Rachel was that she found him, too.

* * *

_3 February._

Dear Rachel,

_I hope you know that you're officially the crowd favorite in my squad. Thank you for the care package, and the guys say thank you too for all that you sent them. You're pretty special, you know that? It was really thoughtful to send them stuff too. Especially the cookies. Yeah, the cookies were the best part. We all agree on that._

_I miss you more and more everyday. I'm counting down the days until I can see you again and be home for good. The big guys are throwing the end of August around, but the dates are always changing. It'll never be soon enough, though._

_I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I'm going to do when I get home, career wise. I've been thinking about maybe taking the state board test to be certified to teach in New York, and finishing up the rest of my contract and not re-enlist when the time comes next year. The Army is great and all, but I don't know, I just can't see myself doing it for the rest of my life anymore. I thought maybe you'd be happy to hear that._

_One of the first things I want to do when I get home though, is meet your dads. I think it's only fair since you've already met my mom, right? I think _

"Hudson!" Finn looked up from where he was leaning against the Humvee at Puck and Sam's approaching figures. He sighed and folded the letter up before tucking it into his breast pocket to finish later. His squad was spread out around him at what they dibbed as their home base for the time being. They named it OutPost Hammy, simply because it was their command station outside of their post back at Hamilton. None of the guys were really original, it seemed. It'd been a quiet day for the most part, and Finn was glad.

"What's up, man?"

"Evans here has something to say." Puck was doing his best to control his laughter, and Finn's eyebrows furrowed.

"My country send me to United States to make movie-film." Finn laughed as Sam talked. Sam Evans was famous for his impersonations around the squad. "Please, come and see my film. If it not success, I will be execute!"

"You're stupid, man." Finn laughed, shaking his head.

"It's Borat!" Sam exclaimed through his chuckles. "I like you, do you like me?"

"I won't if you don't shut the hell up."

"You are my friend?"

"I'm about to make you do push-ups." Finn warned, though all three men knew he was messing around. Finn was serious and held his responsibility as a superior role in high regard, but moments like these when it was just him and his buddies, he couldn't find it in him. Down time was few and far between in the desert, and he wasn't going to interrupt anything that wasn't going against protocol.

"My wife, she very nice. High five!" He held up his hand expectantly, and Finn laughed again when Puck slapped his hand eagerly.

"I'm going to do my rounds. Get your acts together, fools."

Finn walked around for a few minutes, checking in with the guys around him. His eyebrows furrowed when he approached one of the PFC's he was in charge of. "Rodriquez, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm cookin, Sarge." That was one way to describe it, Finn supposed. The young Hispanic male had an MRE – meal ready to eat – bag dumped out on top of the plastic it came in. He was occasionally stirring it around as the sun beat down on them over head. He was adding what looked like spices into the mix that he retrieved from his pockets. "I'm going to be a cook when I get out," he explained. "Come try it. It actually tastes edible."

Finn laughed, but shook his head. "I'm good, Rodriquez. I'll leave the meal to you. Just don't fuck around and get yourself sick, you hear me? We can't have you in the medical tent when you're supposed to be patrolling with us."

"I got this, Sarge!"

* * *

It was hot. That was the only phrase that could really describe the sticky, Iraq weather. It was just the beginning of March, and Finn knew it was just going to get worse as the time ticked away. But he took it in stride, because he knew that the hotter it got the more into Summer it was, and that meant the sooner it was that he would be going home. Rachel came to his mind, and he managed a smile. He was so in love with her it was crazy.

There was a letter waiting for him from her every time they had a mail call, and he knew she wrote him just about every day. He got a care package at least once a month with the best goodies ever, and she always included enough for the guys around him. It was thoughtful, and it just made him love her more.

"You in love, Sergeant?"

He snapped out of his Rachel induced trance and furrowed his eyebrows at the man that had come to walk beside him. "What makes you ask that, Rodriquez?"

The Hispanic smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "You got that look in your eye, and that smile. Makes me think of what I probably look like when I think of my girl."

Finn couldn't help but smile. "You got a girl?" He asked, all the while keeping alert to his surroundings. They were patrolling one of the more unstable areas, and all of the guys were spread out to cover more ground.

"Yes sir. Her names Amanda. Love of my life."

"How old are you, Rodriquez?" Finn wondered, and the clearly younger of the two let out a laugh.

"18." He answered honestly, with a shrug of his shoulders. "But when you know, you know, right?"

Finn could relate to that incredibly well. He had only known Rachel for two days before realizing he was in love with her. He sure wasn't one to judge. "Hooah," Finn agreed, nodding. "How long have you been –" Finn's question was interrupted by a loud explosion up ahead and gunfire pointed in his direction.

"Enemy fire!" He yelled out, "enemy fire!" He dropped into the woods beside him, aiming his rifle and firing. "Give me a count!"

"There's at least twenty, Sergeant!" He heard Puck's voice from several yards away. "God damn Haji's!"

Firing continued for several moments. Out of his peripheral vision, Finn saw Rodriquez inching forward, pulling at a grenade at his side while his eyes stayed trained ahead of him and his firing of the rifle steady. He dropped to the ground after he threw it, and Finn watched as the woods in front of them burst into smoke as a loud explosion echoed through the trees. "Rodriquez!" Finn yelled out above the gunfire surrounding them. "Cover fire!" He ducked out from behind the tree he had been using as cover, running forward. "Rodriquez!" He dropped to his knees and turned the young soldier over, only to be met with him gasping for breath and a steadily growing red puddle seeping through his uniform, right where his breastplate stopped. "Fuck!" Finn yelled out, "Evans! Get over here! Cover him, Giron!"

Sam managed to make it across to where Finn was squatting down beside Rodriquez's shaking form. The gunfire around them slowed as another one of his men threw a grenade. "God damn." He muttered, seeing the damage. Blood was slowly starting to drip from the fallen soldiers mouth. "Sarge…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "We gotta get him to a medical tent."

"The closest medical tent is over a 5K away, Evans!"

"I know, sir." He met Finn's eyes briefly. "He has shrapnel in his neck." He noted, "and a bullet in the chest. His pulse is slowing down by the second." Sam was a medic, and he knew the signs when they were staring him in the face.

"Fuck!" Finn muttered.

"Cease fire!" He heard Puck yell out, but his focus was on the soldier laying beside him.

"Hang in there, Rodriquez."

"Sarge," Blood oozed from his lips as he coughed and gasped out a breath. "You never told me your girls name."

Finn's eyebrows furrowed. "Rachel. Her name is Rachel, Rodriquez."

Rodriquez nodded as his eyes became unfocused. "That's nice. Hang onto her."

"Focus on me, Rodriquez." Finn barked out as Sam kept applying pressure to the wound at his chest.

"Tell my girl that I was thinking of her, will you? And my family?"

"Don't talk like that, Rodriquez."

"Please, Sarge." He coughed again, and Finn felt the blood make contact with his hands and saw it appear on his uniform. His sharp green eyes met with Finn's for a moment, and Finn swallowed the bile rising in this throat and forced a nod. A small smile ghosted across the tanned face of the PFC, before his body stilled.

"Rodriquez!"

"He's gone, Finn." Sam muttered softly, speaking to his friend and not his upper command, feeling for a pulse and failing to find it after a minute of searching. "God damn."

Finn closed his eyes and bowed his head, feeling the remorse start to appear in him. This was his soldier. He looked at his face again and let out a shaky breath as he reached out and covered his face, closing his eyes that had remained open. That would be embedded into his mind forever, and Finn knew it.

* * *

"Private Adams."

"Here Sergeant."

"Private Clarke."

"Here Sergeant."

"Private First Class Falcon."

"Here Sergeant."

"Private First Class Giron."

"Here Sergeant."

"Private First Class Rodriquez."

The sun was covered by the clouds in the sky as Finn's squad stood in formation in front of him as he did roll call, and silence met Finn's ears as he called the name. "Private First Class Stefan Rodriquez." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Private First Class Stefan N. Rodriquez."

Sam stepped forward from his spot in formation, his body shaking just the slightest bit. "Sergeant, Private First Class Stefan N. Rodriquez was killed in action, Ramadi, Iraq, sir." His voice caught just the slightest bit and he closed his eyes for a moment before stepping back into his place, his eyes trained straight ahead.

A moment of silence passed over the group of guys. Their emotions were heavy in the air.

"Private First Class Stefan Rodriquez," Finn took a deep, steadying breath, "Private First Class Stefan Rodriquez died the most honorable way a soldier can." Finn began, "He was moving forward, toward the enemy, helping his brothers." Finn nodded and let his gaze sweep over all of his guys standing before him. All wore matching solemn looks on their faces. "He honored and he aided us with his sacrifice – a sacrifice no one should have to make, but that sometimes is the only option. The best way to honor him, the only way to honor him," He corrected, "is for each and every one of us to do our jobs, do them well, and fulfill what we're all here to do – accomplish the mission. Like he always did." Finn turned himself to stare at the boots on the ground, a rifle supported between them, dog tags and a helmet dangling off the weapon.

He raised his arm in a slow salute, holding his stance. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to set an example, he told himself, and losing it in front of his guys wasn't the right example to set. "You're dismissed." Finn spoke over his shoulder. He let his arm drop, his eyes still trained at the gun and boot memorial that he wished he never had to set up.

"Hudson." Finn turned at the voice, straightening up immediately and saluting.

"Major Locke, sir."

"At ease, Sergeant." Finn relaxed his stance at the command. "That was one hell of a speech. It's important for your men to stay motivated after a loss, and I think you got that across well."

"Thank you, sir."

"I'm sorry to hear about Rodriquez."

Finn nodded slowly. "He was a hell of a soldier, sir."

"I didn't interact with him much, but he had heart."

"Yes sir."

The tall, bulky major took a deep breath and looked Finn right in the eye. "His body is being sent back to his family in three days time. You know it's protocol for someone to escort the body back onto American soil."

Finn's eyebrows furrowed. "Sir?"

"I know we usually have the designated escorts. But I know you and Rodriquez were friends, and you were a damn good leader to him. He looked up to you." When Finn didn't comment, the older commanding officer continued. "I want you to get him home, Sergeant."

"Major Locke… I have my entire squad here. They're all shaken up by this and they need me."

"I respect that, Sergeant. But Corporal Puckerman can handle the job for the next few days. The plane will land on Thursday, but there's a shipment of supplies that's going to be delivered to return on the flight back here that won't be ready until Sunday. While incredibly tragic this is, the timing is impeccable."

Finn processed the information before nodding slowly. "Do you have any idea when the funeral will be?"

"My guess would be Friday. That's one of the main reasons I want you to be the one to go, Hudson. He was your soldier, and he looked up to you more than he looked up to anybody else. Give his family a little closure." Finn nodded. "You can stay in the barracks on Fort Bliss."

"I'd prefer if I could just pay for a hotel room, sir."

Major Locke gave him a strange look for a moment, before a knowing look crossed his face. He gave Finn a sympathetic smile. He had been in his shoes once, and he knew exactly what he was thinking. "Alright, Hudson. But you follow your report and your mission, do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

The two men saluted each other, before the elder of the two nodded. "Dismissed, soldier."

Finn turned on his heel, heading toward the communications tent. His emotions were gaining on him quickly and he felt his air start to come out in shorter, panicked breaths. He grabbed Puck on the way, forcing his best friend to walk with him. "Cover me," was all he said.

* * *

Finn was shaking as he held the phone to his ear, tapping his foot repeatedly against the ground. He was alone in the communications tent, but he did his best to keep his composure because any of his superiors could walk in at any moment if they outranked Puck, who was standing guard outside to give Finn a moment alone. He didn't know what he was feeling, really. He couldn't stay stable enough to focus on one emotion alone; there was anger coursing through his veins, and then there was a sadness seeping into his pores. Then there was just that numb feeling that made him feel like he couldn't breathe – nothing would stick for long, and the cycle was vicious.

Rachel's voicemail greeted him, and he slammed the corded phone down before picking it up and dialing again. It was a little past five o'clock on in the states, but it was Monday – why wasn't she answering? "Please pick up." He muttered as his foot kept tapping. "God damnit!" Her voicemail met his ears again before quickly being replaced by the ringing when he dialed the number again.

He was about to hang up and repeat the process when the ringing stopped. There was a brief pause before her voice finally entered his ear. "Finn?" She sounded breathless as she answered, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Rachel."

"Oh I'm so glad you called back! My phone was in my room and we were in the living room – your brother, Blaine, Quinn and Beth are here with Santana, Jesse, and I – and –"

"Rachel."

"I thought I heard my phone ringing but I wasn't sure and by the time I got back here it had stopped-"

"Rachel."

"I'm so glad – "

"Baby, please shut up." Finn begged, his voice finally giving way to his emotions as they got the best of him. All he wanted to do was talk to her. Normally he loved her jabbering and run on sentences, but he couldn't handle that right now.

Rachel quieted immediately. Finn's voice was distressed – a tone she had never heard from him before – and worry immediately washed over her. "Finn?"

"Oh, baby." Rachel heard his breath catch.

"Finn?" She sat down on the edge of her bed slowly. Whatever he had to say wasn't going to be good. Panic began to set in inside of her when a choked sob came through the phone line. "Honey please tell me what's wrong."

"I'm coming back to the states." Finn got out. Rachel's eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you serious?" She exclaimed, excitement welling up in her. "Why aren't you happy about this?!" She was about to jump up and run into the living room to share the wonderful news when his next words froze her in her place.

"I'm-" Finn took a deep breath, keeping his hand against his forehead as he leaned on his elbow on the table. "I'm escorting a body home. One – one of my guys."

Rachel felt like the wind was knocked out of her as she processed this information. "Who?" She managed to conjure up after a moment of silence. She unconsciously gripped her comforter in her tiny fist as she held her breath in anticipation of his response.

Finn bit his lip as sadness washed over him again in waves. "Rodriquez." Rachel couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her lips as her hand flew to cover her mouth. Finn had told her plenty of stories about the young Hispanic in his group of guys.

"Oh my God."

"Someone has to escort the body home, and it falls on me this time."

"Finn.."

"I need to see you, Rach. Please."

Rachel was nodding before his plea was even complete. "Where will you be?"

"I'm flying into El Paso, Texas on Thursday."

"I'll book a flight."

* * *

**I hope nobody hates me for this, but it's vital for what I have planned. Please review and let me know what you thought! What do you guys want to see in the next chapter? Was this a good or a bad call on my part? Let me know! **

**Review review review!**

**xx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: This one of the hardest chapters to write, like ever. I'm not even sure why, but I just couldn't connect with it but I had to do it because of how I set it up in the last chapter. I'm nowhere near satisfied with it, but I can only hope that you guys at least like it enough to continue reading the next chapter when it's posted. **

**I know first hand that Military funerals are hard as hell to get through, especially when you're close with someone. I imagined that would be simple to write, but it was really hard to capture the emotion. **

**I hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter too much. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Twelve_

* * *

The only sounds were the shaking of the weapons and various items against the walls on the cargo plane due to the slight turbulence they were experiencing. He could hear the normal whipping of the wind outside through the thick walls that you could hear on any plane. Music was playing in his ears through his headphones, but it was all just background noise. The only thing Finn could focus on was the casket that was barely two yards away from him. An American flag was draped over the top of it securely. All the corners lined up perfectly. Finn thought it was the ugliest thing in the world.

Finn leant his head back against the hard wall and let himself breathe. He closed his eyes and tried to picture Rachel's smiling face – her long brown hair and her big chocolate colored eyes. He tried to recall the feel of her smooth skin against his. It was hard, but he knew in a few hours the memories would be refreshed.

He hated himself for anticipating it. He was going to see Rachel, but if the choice was presented to chose between seeing her or getting Rodriquez's life back, the decision wouldn't be hard in the slightest. He was only 18; he didn't deserve to die. Finn opened his eyes and they automatically trained themselves on the deep mahogany casket.

Nothing about this was right.

* * *

The heat was something Rachel wasn't used to experiencing so early on in the year. The El Paso sun was hot, and the air was dry. She couldn't bring herself to care about any of that, though.

The plane had just landed.

The car Rachel rented was parked behind her, and she had the perfect view of the airstrip from where she was propped against it in the parking lot on the hill a few hundred yards away. There was a hearse and a few dark SUVs down below, and as the plane came to a full halt, Rachel saw people begin to emerge. First she saw Class A uniforms filing in two single lines toward the plane, and then she saw a group of people huddled together tightly.

She could barely see their tears from how far away she was, but she knew they were there. That was Stefan's family. It had to be. She felt her heart break as she watched them break down at the site of the casket slowly being lowered by the soldiers onto the rolling cart. An older woman made her way to it, simply running her hand over the American flag before breaking down completely. Rachel wondered if that was his mother, and she couldn't even begin to comprehend how she was feeling right now.

Then she saw Finn and her heart stopped all together. He was far away, but he was just as handsome as he was when he left six months ago. She had to look away when she saw him approach the devastated family.

She felt like a voyeur who was interrupting a critical moment, so she kept her eyes trained to the ground for several minutes. She swore she could hear the sobbing from here and tried her hardest to not be selfish and think about how lucky she was that Finn was here. She heard vehicles start up and looked back just in time to see the hearse pulling away, followed by the two black SUVs. Finn stood tall and still, silently watching them drive away. It wasn't until they were completely out of site that his eyes spotted her. She stood up straight from her leaning position, raising her hand in a single, solitary wave. She was fighting herself not to run to him.

An official approached Finn from the plane, and Finn slung the backpack he handed him over his shoulder and spoke with him briefly. He handed him something, and Finn stuffed the papers in one of his pockets.

Rachel bit her lip as she saw them salute one another. She rocked on the ball of her feet as she became more and more anxious. He was walking toward her now, and Rachel felt her breath catch the closer he got. "Hey baby." He spoke gently when he was close enough for her to hear him. Those words were like a match under her and she couldn't contain herself and was running toward him before she could talk herself out of it.

Finn dropped the bag on his back and held out his arms in just enough time to catch her. For the first time in five days, he felt like he could breathe without restrictions. He lifted her up and felt her wrap her legs around his waist as he held her to him as tightly as he possibly could. One hand supported her back and the other was tangled in the hair at her neck as he pulled away just enough so he could pull her mouth to his.

Her kiss tasted just how he remembered; spearmint with just a hint of peach from the tea she drinks; an odd, addicting combination. Her hands grasped his face tightly, giving him no option to pull away. His tongue dueled with hers and she whimpered into the kiss.

When air became an issue, he leant his forehead against hers. "You're really here." She whispered, and he nodded against her.

"I missed you so much, baby. So much." He connected their lips in another kiss. He couldn't get enough of her.

"I love you." She spoke against his lips. He just kissed her harder and wished that he never had to let her go again, because as long as he was with her, it was so much easier to fight away the guilt he felt and the images of war he was surrounded by.

* * *

"Yes, mom. I'm sure that I don't need anything." Finn glanced back at Rachel and sent her a small smile. "Rachel's here with me, I'll be okay." She smiled back at him. She wrapped her arms around him from where she was kneeling behind him on the bed, resting her cheek against his shoulder and kissing the side of his chin lightly. She let her fingers trail over the opposite side of his face slowly as she watched him. "Yeah, I know she's special." He sent her a wink, and Rachel bit her lip to contain her smile. "I love you too. I promise I'll call you tomorrow. Bye." Finn pulled the phone away from his ear, ending the call and setting it beside him on the bed. He rubbed at her arms that were wrapped around him.

"You okay?" She murmured softly. Finn let out a sigh and nodded. "You don't have to lie."

"I'm just tired, Rach. It's been a long week…" He trailed off, and he got that far away look in his eyes that Rachel didn't like very much. She had seen it in the car when they were driving to the hotel, and again when they were sitting in silence at the table at dinner. It was later in the evening now, and Rachel knew they were in the room for the night with no plans to leave.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked softly, tracing his cheek with the pads of her fingers.

He turned his face and kissed her nose. "Not right now." He gave her a tight smile and was opening his mouth to say something else when his phone rang again. He let out a sigh. "I shouldn't have even turned it on."

"Who is it?" Rachel wondered, placing a kiss on the junction where his neck and shoulder met. She did it again when she felt him shiver in pleasure.

"I don't know the number."

"Don't answer it." Rachel requested, but Finn shook his head and pressed accept anyway. The majority of the time he was getting calls from numbers he didn't know, it had something to do with the Army. He couldn't chance not picking up a call when he technically wasn't even supposed to be on American soil.

"Sergeant Hudson." Rachel felt Finn's body tense in her arms, and she furrowed her eyebrows when she saw his eyes widen. "No sir, now's a fine time." He shook Rachel's arms off of him gently so he could stand from the edge of the bed.

"I'll be right back." He mouthed to her. Rachel was confused but sent him a nod anyway. He closed the door to the room gently behind him. She scooted back until she felt the pillows beneath her, and lay down to get comfortable until he returned. It was almost five minutes later that Finn reentered the room. He set his phone down on the table by the door and stood still for a moment.

"Finn?" Rachel asked, sitting up slightly. "Who was that?"

"That uh…that was a major from Fort Hamilton." Rachel's eyes widened and she sat up further. "He wanted to tell me about the funeral tomorrow." He said as he joined her on the bed. Rachel nodded, and she crawled over until she could perch herself in Finn's lap. He locked his arms around her waist and returned the gentle kiss she placed on his lips.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

It took a moment, but Finn nodded. He brushed his nose against hers and let their breaths mingle as he closed his eyes. He spoke honestly when he said; "I couldn't imagine doing this without you."

* * *

"Ready. Aim. Fire." Rachel clung onto Finn's arm and jumped as the guns went off. She held a hand over her mouth to keep herself quiet. "Ready. Aim. Fire." She closed her eyes as the guns went off again. "Ready. Aim. Fire." She had never heard a 21-gun salute in person before, nor had she ever attended a military funeral. She hoped she wouldn't ever have to again. Rachel peaked a glance up at Finn's face, and her heart broke all over again. His face was hard, but there was tears swimming in his eyes. He stood tall with his arm held in a salute, staring at the American flag being folded up.

Rachel had to look away when the flag was folded and the soldier moved toward the sitting row of people right up front. She turned her face into Finn's arm, inhaling his scent to keep her calm. The dark fabric of his dress uniform smelled like the dry cleaners she had taken it to when he first called and asked her to bring it with her, but his scent was embedded in it from repeated use. "Breathe, baby." She murmured. Finn was tense and she hadn't seen his chest move in a few passing moments. At her voice, he let out a shaky breath and dropped his hand down to his side. "I'm here." She ran the hand that wasn't clinging to his arm up and down the length of the clothed fabric. She couldn't say it was okay, or even that it would be. She could never make promises to him that couldn't for certain ensure. She wished more than anything that she could.

Finn didn't say anything, but he did shuffle the tiniest bit closer to her. They were standing in the very back of the crowd surrounding the grave site and they watched with solemn expressions as the casket was lowered into the ground. She felt the faintest of shakes emitting from Finn and squeezed his arm again in support. He let out a long breath, and then another.

Ten minutes passed as people began to leave the cemetery. Finn never moved, so Rachel didn't either. "I have to talk to them." Finn finally muttered under his breath. Rachel didn't have to strain herself to know who he was referring to.

She grabbed his hand in hers and tugged slightly. He took a deep breath before leading her over to the small group that remained. They all had tanned skin and dark hair, sans the one young girl who was a stunning blonde with striking blue eyes that were rimmed red from her tears.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rodriquez." Finn cleared his the lump in his throat after hearing the effect on his voice.

"Sergeant Hudson." The short, slightly rounded Hispanic woman spoke as recognition crossed her tired features. Fin nodded, squeezing Rachel's hand tightly before letting it go and taking a step forward.

"I know I spoke to you briefly yesterday, but I – I just wanted to say again how sorry I am about your son."

Sorrow crossed the woman's face. The man who had his arm wrapped around her shoulders cleared his throat before speaking. "We appreciate that, Sergeant."

"He was an incredible soldier. You raised an amazing son. I just – I wanted to let you know that he died a hero. He was protecting his brothers."

"Were you with him? When he – when he passed?" Finn nodded slowly.

"Yes sir."

"Did he suffer?"

The question caught Finn a little off guard. Rodriquez's face flashed across Finn's mind. The shortness of breath could be heard and the blood slowly dripping down his chin from his lips was clear as day as the bullet stayed lodged in his body.

"No sir." Finn found himself saying, despite what he knew was true. "He didn't feel anything."

The man nodded slowly, tears shining in his dark eyes.

"We had been talking when we were ambushed and he…he was realy adamant about finishing the conversation. I abandoned my post and stayed with him until…" Finn trailed off, thinking he said too much to the obviously devastated family.

"It's – it's comforting to know he had you there. He would go on and on about you."

Finn's eyebrows furrowed. "Ma'am?"

The woman nodded, her Mexican accent becoming more pronounced as she became emotional at the memory. "Ever since he was assigned to your platoon at Fort Hamilton. He really looked up to you." A sad smile played on her lips as tears began to spill over. "He was always going on and on about how you always made him feel like he was part of a family, instead of just a group of guys that were forced together."

"I- I wanted everyone to be comfortable."

"You made him feel appreciated. He always told me not to worry because Sergeant Hudson was a good guy and treated him well – didn't push him around like a lot of superiors might have."

"It was an honor to lead him." Finn whispered as his throat started to close up.

"He wanted to become an NCO like yourself." Mr. Rodriquez spoke. "You were an inspiration to him. I don't know if he ever told you that."

"I…wasn't aware of that." Fin was stunned, and he could feel the bile forming in his throat as the guilt he felt came back, tenfold.

The woman stepped forward, grabbing Finn's hands. "Thank you for protecting my son and not letting him suffer." The words were like a slap in the face to him. He could barely nod as she let go of his hands and took a step back. Her husband sent Finn a teary smile and a nod before he ushered his distraught wife away. Finn stared at the grass in front of him as his thoughts went into overdrive. Blonde aught his eye, and suddenly something clicked in him.

"Amanda?" He questioned, and the blonde girl that clearly was not blood related to the Rodriquez family turned from where she was following the older couple. "You're Amanda?" She nodded slowly. "Stefan wanted me to tell you that he loved you – that he was thinking of you."

"What?" She asked, her voice hoarse and overused, tears streaming down her face.

"He wanted me to tell you that."

Panic and distraught feelings were all over her face, and Rachel and Finn could both se her begin to shake. She managed to stutter out a thank you, and didn't let Finn get another word out before she turned and briskly walked away from them.

"Finn?" Rachel asked softly after a few minutes of silence passed. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the grave differ begin to push dirt into the hole in the ground where the casket containing the young soldier he had known for Stefan's whole career as a soldier lay.

Rachel followed his gaze and closed her eyes sadly. "Let's go." She murmured after another moment of silence. Finn nodded, seemingly far away and Rachel grabbed his hand. She lead him out of the cemetery and felt her heart break because she could tell that, while he was there physically, at the moment he couldn't be further away mentally, and she had no idea how to help him.

* * *

"He was asking me about you." The sound of Finn's voice startled her, and Rachel looked up from her position tucked against his side as they lye again the headboard on the bed in their hotel room. They had both been bathed in silence since returning almost three hours ago. She was so surprised that he had spoken that she barely registered what he had said.

"What?"

"Right before we were ambushed. We were patrolling, and he was asking me about my girl."

"Oh."

Finn sighed and leant his head back. "It came out of nowhere. We were just talking and then we were being attacked." This was the first time that Finn had offered up any information about that day, and Rachel moved so that she could see his face properly. "I saw Rodriquez move forward and throw the grenade. I saw him hit the ground as soon as he let go, but I thought he was just trying to get out of the line of fire. But then he didn't get up." He closed his eyes as the scene played back in his mind, play by play. "He was out in the open and I saw that. I should have called him off."

Rachel rose up on her knees before moving to straddle his lap. His hands automatically moved to land on her hips, but his hold was weak and barely noticeable. "You can't possibly be blaming yourself for this, Finn."

"I was in charge of him, Rach." Finn said, an almost desperate tone taking up residence in his voice. "You heard what his parents said. He looked up to me and he expected me to do the right thing."

"Finn…"

"He was only 18." Rachel wiped at the tear trailing down his cheek, but she couldn't hinder the others that sprang forward. "He was just a kid. He had been out of basic training for three months before we deployed. He – he was such a happy guy and would always joke around and we just ragged on him most of the time."

"Oh, honey."

"I watched him die, Rachel. I sat there beside him and just watched him die." She held him against her as his guilt and sadness finally bubbled up and over through his tears, and his hands were fisted to slightly into the fabric of her black dress that she was sure it was ruined. "I should have done something."

"There was nothing you could do, Finn."

"But I could have tried."

Rachel pulled away from him enough so she could cup his cheeks and force him to look at her. His eyes were rimmed in red and he looked more defeated than she could fathom. "Finn, you can't feel guilty like this." He tried to turn his head, but she kept her wrists locked so he couldn't. "I know it hurts, baby. I know it does. But you can't let this eat you up inside."

"I don't know how to stop."

Rachel knew that during Finn's first deployment he had lost a few friends. She briefly wondered if he felt guilty like this then, too. But this was the first time he's lost somebody since he'd been in charge of a whole platoon, and she could only imagine the difference.

"Just let it out." She whispered, running her fingers through his hair. "I'm right here."

Rachel doesn't know how long he cried for. Her legs were numb from being folded for so long, and there was an ache in her back, but none of that mattered. She held onto him long after his tears stopped and his breathing was back to normal. In that time period and the time following, he told her everything that he hadn't told her before. All the times that he'd been shot at, and the times his guys found themselves in the medical tent. He told her how rough it was some nights to fall asleep because all he could hear was gunfire in the background and sometimes-even people screaming.

He knew he shouldn't have. There was a code that's supposed to be followed on what you tell your spouses or family or respective others. But something just snapped in him and everything was pouring out of him before he could try and latch the gate to keep it enclosed.

Rachel listened to every word attentively, responding when it was appropriate and just nodding at any other time. It was past midnight when Finn finally wore himself out. He fell asleep with his arms wrapped around her, and Rachel couldn't help but lie there and stare at him. He was hurting, and while talking about it probably did help, she knew that was inevitable. She just prayed that he was able to move on from this enough to focus. She may not know a lot about the military, but she knew that losing focus was the worst thing that could happen in battle.

* * *

"Pretty ironic that I'm the one seeing you off now, huh?" Finn tried to joke, and Rachel just hugged him to her tighter. Finn sighed and kissed the top of her head as he ran his hands up and down her back. The pair was standing in the airport right before security Saturday night. Rachel had a red eye flight back to New York, as she had to be back at the Gershwin in time for the matinee show on Sunday.

"Please tell me that you'll be okay." Finn pulled away enough so that he could lean down to kiss her.

"You being here really helped." He promised, pushing her hair behind her ear. "You don't now how thankful I am for you."

"There was nowhere else I'd rather be." She kissed him again, trying to pour her emotions into the kiss. Her tongue slid against his and he couldn't help but to pull her closer. They only pulled away a minute or two later when her flight was called over the intercom. She hadn't even been through security yet, and they both knew she had to go.

"Stay safe?"

Rachel let out a small giggle, keeping her arms around his waist. "Aren't I the one that should be saying that?" He just rose an eyebrow, and she smiled. "Stay safe, Finn."

"I will." He promised. "I guess I'll see you in a few months, huh?"

"You better believe it." She agreed, leaning up to kiss him again softly. "I love you, Finn Hudson. Please don't forget that. And please remember that everything that happens isn't your fault. You can't control everything."

He forced a nod, and sent her a sad smile. "I love you, Rachel Berry. Go before you miss your flight." He pecked her lips again before pushing her gently forward. She turned to wave to him through the glass when she made it through security, and he waved back until she walked away.

There was an ache in his chest as soon as she disappeared from his view, and the feelings of sadness and guilt crept back up on him as he walked back outside, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans that she had brought for him from home. He wasn't exactly sure how he was going to make it through the rest of his deployment. But he also knew that there was nothing he could do but try, and to fight back. The best way to honor someone was to continue on with what they were trying to accomplish, right? He'd be damned if he let Rodriquez's death go in vain.

* * *

**Yeah, it sucked pretty bad. But the next chapter is almost done, so review anyway and hopefully I'll get it posted before the week is up? You guys are seriously the best and I appreciate every piece of feedback I get, good or bad! I'm thinking there's only going to be one more chapter that was set up like Chapter Eleven was, where it skipped ahead a month or two every segment, and then there'll be the homecoming. **

**So here's my questions for you guys! Do you think Brody should make another appearance in the story, or no? Should anything else happen overseas before the company comes home? Let me know!**

**Review review review! **

**xx**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: I'm rushing to post this before I leave for the first UNC Basketball game of the season, so I didn't have time to edit it! Hopefully it's not too bad!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Thirteen_

* * *

"Welcome back, man." Puck greeted when Finn walked up a little over 36 hours after taking off from Fort Bliss. They clasped hands and hit shoulders in the designated way that men just seemed to know by nature.

"Wish I could say it was good to be here." Finn responded back, "how's it been?"

"I've been handling things. It's been a quiet week."

Finn nodded, looking around and shaking his head knowingly. "You and I both know it never stays quiet for long."

"Hooah." Puck agreed. "How was the funeral?"

Finn sighed deeply, scratching at the side of his head. "It was tough, man."

Puck didn't respond, only nodding. The two of them had known each other long enough to understand what the other was thinking, or feeling, and they had a mutual agreement that if someone wanted to talk about something, the one mainly concerned would bring it up. They also knew that the longer you dwelled on something dealing with the military, the longer it'll eat you up inside. Survivor's guilt is something everyone in the military has to deal with at some point, and it was tricky.

"How's your girl?"

Finn managed a smile. "She's good. I actually have something for you." Puck cocked his head to the side, and Finn pulled a small, compact digital camera from the cargo pocket on his left side. "S'from Quinn." He handed it to Puck, whose eyes grew wide when he turned it on.

"Man, fuck yeah! My girl sent me dirty pictures!"

Finn just rolled his eyes at Puck's excitement, but couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Just make sure to keep ahold of that shit. I'm not breaking up a fight because someone got their hands on that and are ogling your wife."

"I'd like to see someone try." Puck retorted pack, already flipping through the pictures as the two walked up to the tents and common ground where the platoon was.

Finn scrunched up his face slightly. "Can't you wait till you're alone to do that shit, man?"

"You got to be with your girl for the weekend." Was his only reply, he let out a whistle when he came to a certain picture, "well _god damn_."

Finn just rolled his eyes before halting his walking and clearing his throat loudly, his elbows bent and hands behind his back. "3rd Platoon! Attention!" Almost immediately, every guy was up and standing at attention, standing tall and staring straight ahead. Finn couldn't help the small sense of pride in the pit of his stomach. No matter the guilt he felt, this was his job and he still had to get it done. He had to lead these guys the best he could so that none of them had to make the same sacrifice that their brother did – even if it meant he got hurt in the process.

* * *

It was the first week of April that Rachel got a phone call that would, ultimately, alter her life forever. She was almost numb from the shock as she slowly made her way out of her bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen, where Santana was mixing something together in a skillet on the stove. Her phone was grasped so tightly in her fingers that she was losing feeling in the digits. Santana raised an eyebrow at her when she noticed her out of the corner of her eye.

"What's with you?" When Rachel didn't say anything, and just continued to stare at nothing in particular, Santana grew concerned. "Rachel? What's going on?" She took notice of the phone and felt worry grow in her stomach. "Is Finn okay?"

His name brought her out of her daze, and she finally blinked. "Santana…" Rachel breathed, "Andy just called me." Andy was Rachel's manager, one of the best in the business, and had been since she first started her career.

"Okay?"

"The Tony nominations were released this morning."

Santana's eyes grew wide, and she turned the stove off and moved toward Rachel slowly. "And?" Rachel finally met Santana's eyes, and the disbelief on her face would be comical in any other situation. "Berry!"

"I'm nominated." Santana let out a scream, and Rachel felt the smile ebb onto her face as the reality of the situation sunk in. "I'm nominated for the freaking Tony awards! Oh my God!" Santana pulled her into a hug, and the two held onto each other as they jumped up and down in their kitchen, squeals and screams combined into an almost musical number.

Rachel had wanted this for as long as she could remember, and it felt like all of her dreams were finally coming true. The only thing that could possibly make this situation any better was if Finn was here to join in their excitement.

* * *

Her dads had been ecstatic when Rachel told them of her nomination, and Finn had said that he had never been more happy or proud of her before, and he would tell anybody that was willing to listen. "They kind of have to listen to me, baby, so everyone is going to know about this!" Rachel had giggled, but her being her of course didn't try and stop him. He was slightly hesitant when he asked whom she planned on taking as her date, and she heard his audible sigh of relief when she said that Santana and Jesse would be the ones sitting with her in the audience.

He justified his question on never being too careful. She just rolled her eyes and called him silly, but she loved how protective he was.

Finn still sounded distant sometimes when they talked, but he always blamed it on the stress of the setting he was in. Rachel didn't really understand, but she tried too. She worried about him, but she never told him that because she knew he wouldn't like it.

* * *

The beginning of May was when she had her first actual encounter with her ex-boyfriend in more than six months. He seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth, and she was more than a little surprised when she opened her door one day to find Brody to be the one knocking on the other side. "I thought you might have died." Was the first thing she thought and coincided with the first thing that came out of her mouth when she saw him.

"Glad to know you cared enough to think of me."

Rachel just rolled her eyes. "Months without speaking and the first thing you say to me is a dig."

Brody sighed, and Rachel was surprised when she actually saw a flash of regret pass through his eyes, and she almost even believed him when he apologized. "I need to talk to you about something." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he could see the silent question of why she should even give him the time of day. "Look, Rachel, I've steered clear of you for over six months, and I've actually been fine with doing it. I've moved on, even. But this is something serious that I need to discuss with you."

"So talk." She leant against the doorway, her arms crossed in front of her. There wasn't a chance that she was going to let him into her apartment when she was alone.

"I got a job offer last week." The dark haired man began, "and it's probably the best one I've had since I graduated NYADA and I really want to take it. If I want to keep paying my rent and living like I do, I need to take it, actually."

"What does that have to do with me?" The petite haired girl asked, confusion clouding her features.

Brody gave her a wary look, almost as if he was reluctant to tell her. "The job offer came from Broadway. They want me to be a dance instructor and trainer, and my first job would be on Wicked. I don't know how long it would last, but I know that's where I'd start. You have basically a whole new ensemble coming in within the next three months."

"Oh."

"I was perfectly fine with never bothering you again, Rachel. But I really need this job." His tone was almost begging of her, and she could see the sincerity in his eyes.

"If I tell you not to take it, would you?"

"I loved you once, Rachel." Was his only response, and somehow she knew exactly what that meant.

Rachel weighed her options in her mind, mentally making a pro con list. The con's outweighed the pro's by almost triple, but the human in her that always tried to please everybody was always so much powerful than any other part of her in the most inconvenient of times. "You know if you come near me, or if you do anything to piss me off or hurt me, Jesse will be right there."

She saw the relief wash over his face. "If either of us are lucky then we won't even have to work together."

She could only pray that to be true, and that he was moved onto another production by the time Finn made it home. Any other case scenario would not be a pretty one.

* * *

"You're kidding me, right?" Rachel sighed, shaking her head. "Tell me you're not serious about this."

"What was I supposed to say, Jesse?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about 'hell no!'? Come on Rachel, you're smarter than that!"

"Don't insinuate that my level of intelligence has deterred, Jesse Jordan St. James." Rachel warned, shooting him a pointed look from where she was seated on the couch in her dressing room. They had been having lunch together when she told him about Brody, and now he was pacing the floor in front of her.

He matched her look dead on. "Don't make stupid choices like this and I wouldn't have to, Rachel Barbara Berry."

"He's going to be working with the new cast members, Jesse. Not us. And you're acting like I'm not in a perfectly stable relationship!"

"What did Finn have to say about this?" Jesse wondered, crossing his arms over his chest. When Rachel looked away from him, he let out a scoff of disbelief. "You're seriously losing it."

"Knowing this is only going to worry him, and he doesn't need that right now! Not after everything he's gone and is currently through. Brody had the decency to come and ask me first. What kind of person would I have been if I told him not to take the job that he's perfectly qualified for and apparently needs just because we have baggage?"

"A perfectly justified one."

Rachel sighed again before standing from the couch. She moved to stand with Jesse face-to-face, and put a hand on his arm. "You'll be here with me everyday. Brody knows not to come near me. He knows you'll kick his ass, and that you know where he lives so even if he gets out of here alive he's not even safe in his own home. Just let it go."

Jesse sighed, shaking his head at the woman who was so smart but was so unbelievably naive sometimes. "You do realize that this is going to come back and bite you in the ass somehow, right?"

Rachel didn't say anything, only shrugging her shoulders before she moved to start preparing for the matinee performance that would be starting soon. Internally, though, she really hoped Jesse wouldn't be proved right and this wouldn't have any serious negative repercussions.

* * *

Finn was covered head to toe in mud, and he didn't think he's ever wanted a shower or a nap so bad before. He yanked his helmet off as he sunk down on the ground near him at his platoons home post, shaking some of the wet dirt from his hair that had managed to get under the protective gear. Night patrols were never fun. Like, ever. But it was even worse when it was night patrols through a swamp that came up above his knees, in the _rain. _Throw in the mines that were set off from them walking through the guck and the few rounds of enemy fire they faced on the way back, and it was just about the worst patrol night this whole deployment. Finn was just glad that it was over and that there was no casualties or severe injuries.

"Make sure Evans stitches that up, Clarke." Finn ordered to one of the soldiers that got thrown back from an explosion in the water and had a gash on his hand from where shrapnel had cut through his gloves.

"Yes Sergeant."

"Michaelson, you too."

The 22 year old black man nodded, wiping at the blood that was oozing from the cut on his skin right where his ear connected to the side of his head.

"Elevate that leg, Kearney. You need to be good to go by tomorrow."

"Yes sir, Sergeant."

Finn nodded at him, looking around and speaking to whomever else he needed to speak too. The damage acquired tonight wasn't all that bad. Finn was proud of his platoon and the job they had been doing. It was the first week of June, and they'd been in country for almost a full nine months. They had only suffered one casualty, and they all knew how lucky they were for that. Out of the whole company that deployed from Fort Hamilton, their platoon was the only one that had that low of a number. It had been a rough deployment for all of them.

"That fucking sucked." Puck let out as he plopped down beside Finn.

"Hooah." Finn agreed, leaning his head back against the less than sturdy wall. "Three more months, man."

"Can't get over quick enough." Finn only nodded. "Hey, wasn't Rachel's award thing last night?" At those words, Finn's eyes flew open and all the energy he thought he last came back to him.

"Giron, let me see your computer!" Finn's was lying dead with the rest of his stuff, and Giron was using his only a few feet away. The blonde simply shrugged and handed the black device over, having not even opened the Internet yet since the computer had just turned on.

Finn was quick to log into his email and his heart was racing when he saw the email from Kurt with "Be Proud of Her" in the subject line. In the text of the email was a few links, and Finn breathed out a "She did it" when the title of the YouTube link he clicked on appeared as the video buffered.

_Rachel Berry Wins Best Leading Actress – Wicked _

"Well God damn." Puck grinned, clapping Finn on the back. Finn hadn't even noticed that Puck stood up to stand beside him at the desk he put Giron's laptop on when he grabbed it. "You guys come check this out! Hudson's girl won her award!" It wasn't a secret who Finn was seeing around the platoon, especially with how much Finn raved about her when he found out about the possibility of her winning a freaking _Tony_. By the time the video was completely loaded and Finn pressed play, nearly his whole platoon was around him to watch the screen.

The video started with the presenters. "The nominees for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a musical are – " Finn could hardly pay attention to any of the other names that they listed off, because Rachel's was the first and how stunning she looked when the camera panned to where she was sitting was engraved in his mind. Her long hair was down and straight with just a little wave toward the ends, her makeup was flawless and her smile was just as amazing as it was every other time he'd seen it. He didn't get a full view of her dress, but from what he saw of the

Embellished white gown was stunning. It covered her chest and clipped at the neck with no sleeves; a halter neck, or something like that. Kurt had made it, he knew, and had described it to him but nothing prepared him for how stunning she looked. The camera went back to the presenters; two people he didn't recognize but knew were probably a big deal somehow.

"And the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is – Rachel Berry, Wicked!" Even though they all knew the outcome, the guys around Finn let out excited yells and even a few catcalls. Finn just stared at the screen with a huge smile taking over his still dirty face. The camera flashed back to Rachel as soon as her name was called, and the shock on her face was evident as she covered her mouth with her small hands as Santana wrapped her arms around her. Jesse had jumped up and was cheering from her other side. She stood up and embraced the two of them tightly, her body being almost forced to jump along with Santana's. Finn could see the tears beginning to shine in her eyes as she made her way to the stage, a voice over the video stating that this doubled as her first nomination and her first win, as well as her first leading role in an On-Broadway production. Finn felt the pride well up in him as, right as she was walking on the stage, it was also announced that this makes for one of the youngest performers to ever receive this award.

"Oh my God." Were the first words out of her mouth when she made it to the microphone, clutching her award in one hand while the other rubbed her forehead or a moment. Finn was so distracted by her voice that he couldn't even take the time to appreciate the very generous slit in her dress. "Oh my God." She said again as the excitement kicked in. The audience laughed, and Finn saw Jesse and Santana still cheering her on when it panned back to them. "I don't even know what to say." She giggled, "I've been waiting for this since I knew I wanted to be on Broadway and knew what a Tony was." She began, her voice shaking.

"Thank you to everyone that's come to see the show and the continuous support we get. To every fan that waits outside for the cast after the show is over for autographs, to my director Joe Mantello for believing in me so quickly after I graduated from school and giving me the role of a lifetime despite how young I am. Oh gosh, the rest of the cast and crew that makes Wicked what it is, you're all so talented and amazing! Jesse, you have no idea how much I love and appreciate you. We said we were going to make our start together when we met in high school, and I can't believe we're actually doing it." Tears welled up in Rachel's eyes as she admired the award in her hand. "To my family and my friends, thank you for always believing in me and putting up with my crazy for as long as you have because I know how unbearable I can get sometimes." Jesse blew her a kiss when the camera showed him, and Finn couldn't help but laugh when the camera stayed to where he was just long enough to see Santana mouth "all the time."

The next words out of Rachel's mouth, however, cut off all laughter and left him speechless as his heart pounded in his chest. "And lastly to my wonderful, wonderful boyfriend Finn, who couldn't be here tonight because he's in the Army and currently deployed, thank you for loving me and believing in me, even from so far away. You're the real life Fiyero to my Elphaba and you make me better even if you don't know it. Stay safe and I love you so much. Thank you everyone!"

The guys around him were all commenting on the video, congratulating their superior on landing such a famous and pretty girl, but Finn only stared at the computer screen with a silly grin on his face. That was his girl, and while he knew she's tweeted about them before, there was something about her saying it on national TV that made a sense of pride well up in him knowing the whole world knew it.

* * *

The third week of June, just two weeks after the Tony Awards, Rachel was brought down from her seemingly constant high by a phone call from Kurt. It seems that phone calls were constantly throwing her for a loop lately.

"How bad is it?" She asked.

"It wasn't that bad, but I'm hopping on a flight down to Ohio anyway. I'm on my way to the airport."

Rachel took a deep breath, running a hand through her long hair. Kurt got the phone call that he was relaying to Rachel from his dad about half an hour ago, telling him about the accident. Carole had been on her way home from her shift at the hospital when a teenager who was texting and didn't notice the red light hit her on the passenger side of her car.

"She might need surgery."

"I thought you said it wasn't that bad?!" Rachel panicked, her eyes widening significantly.

"It's not like, life threatening. But she has a concussion and her arm got pinned pretty bad when the car hit the telephone pole and the air bag deployed." Kurt explained, and Rachel could hear that he was upset.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Diva, you've taken off of work more in the past 9 months then you have your entire career, and I'm including college." Rachel blushed, but rolled her eyes nonetheless. "I'll keep you posted, though. As soon as I know something, so will you."

"What about Finn?" Rachel asked quietly, biting her emerald green thumb nail.

Kurt sighed on the other end of the line. "I don't know if we should tell him or not."

"But she's okay." Rachel reasoned. In her mind and her heart, Rachel knew she couldn't handle keeping anything else from him. She had yet to tell him of Brody working on set.

"Exactly. There's no reason to worry him." Rachel remained quiet, and Kurt sighed. "I'm not going to tell him. But if you feel like you need to, then I guess I can't stop you. Just make sure to reiterate the fact that she's _okay._" Kurt stressed.

Rachel let out a long breath of relief. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm walking into the airport now. I'll call you as soon as I get to the hospital, okay?"

"Please." She responded. They bid each other farewell, and Rachel plopped down on the chair in front of her vanity, her head in her hands. This is the first time she's ever wished that maybe, just maybe, Finn _wouldn't_ call today.

* * *

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Finn yelled, throwing his rifle down and stalking toward the younger soldier who was immediately regretting any decision he made earlier that day. Finn had just rejoined the platoon after seeing two of his soldiers off in the medical helicopter. "I gave you a direct order and what did you do?"

"I didn't follow it, sir."

"Exactly. You didn't follow it, and look what happened!" Every guy around them was silent, and stood completely still as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. "Do you realize how many people could have died because of that fucking stunt? Falcon and Louis are both being taken to Germany with God knows how bad of injuries! Because you decided you didn't want to follow an order that I gave because you didn't think it was the right one." Finn was directly in his face, and the ginger haired soldier he was yelling at stood stock still as Finn's pointed finger hit him in the chest. "Every order I give, I give for a reason, Rhett. I wasn't aware that your rank held more influence then mine, _Private." _Finn seethed.

"It-it doesn't, sir."

"What was that?" Finn asked, taking a step forward.

"My rank doesn't hold more influence than yours, sir." Jason Rhett responded, his voice louder and holding more respect.

"You're damn right it doesn't. So what in the absolute hell made you decide to violate what you were told to do and open fire on someone who had made no move to suggest they were enemies?"

"I was just doing what I thought was right, sir."

"What you thought was right? I don't give a damn what you thought was right, Rhett. I know what I'm doing and every action you've committed today proves that you don't. Mistakes like the one you made are what get you and your comrades killed. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sergeant."

"I said, do you understand?" Finn yelled louder.

"Yes Sergeant!"

Finn took yet another step closer, and dropped his voice to an almost threatening whisper. "You better hope and fucking pray that Falcon and Louis don't have any major injuries because if they do, that's on your fucking conscious." Something flashed across the man's face, and Finn knew he got his point across. It's not that he wanted to have to fuss and yell like this, but sometimes it's what he had to do. The younger soldier looked down, and Finn shook his head. "Get the hell out of my face, Rhett."

"Sir." He didn't look at him as he walked away, and Finn was glad because if he did he didn't know if he would be able to go without physically knocking some sense into him. He turned around in a slow circle, throwing his arms out.

"Let's take this as a learning lesson that when I tell you guys to do something, you fucking do it. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a chorus of "Yes sirs" and "Sergeant" throughout the crowd, and Finn nodded before he scoffed. "Good, now each and every one of you can drop and give me fifty before you even consider having a meal or going to call your families. Maybe after that you can have a talk with your boy Rhett about what the definition of an order is. I better hear you sound off and don't let me find out from Puckerman that you skipped any." Finn turned on the toe of his boot, grabbing his rifle off the ground before stalking away toward the tech tent to make his phone call for the day.

"You heard him, gentlemen. Let's go." Puck commanded, walking through the bodies as they all dropped and started on their punishment. It wasn't uncommon for all of them to be punished for one persons mistake – it was how they learned to not make them. "That's the most pathetic push-up I've ever seen, Michaelson. Everyone start over!"

Finn took a few minutes to try and calm down when he got to the phones. His temper had been extra bad since he got back in country from his weekend in Texas, and situations like the one from today make him wonder how some people make it past basic training in the first place. Jason Rhett wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box, or however the saying went, but then again neither was he. But following orders when they were spelled out for you wasn't hard, and because he didn't, two of Finn's guys were on their way to a hospital in Germany with injuries and probably wouldn't be rejoining them for the rest of the deployment.

It was close to one in the morning American time, but Finn hadn't talked to his mom in almost two weeks so he called anyway. He said when the machine for the house phone picked up and decided against calling her cell phone and just left a message instead, letting her and Burt know that he was okay and would call again when he can. He knew better than to call Kurt after midnight unless it was an emergency, so he dialed Rachel's number next.

He didn't know what he was more surprised at: when the line connected after only two rings when it was so late, or when it wasn't Rachel's voice that flowed into his ears.

"Hello?"

Finn's eyes narrowed almost dangerously at the male voice. "Who's this?"

"Finn?"

"Who is this?" He repeated. His grip on the corded phone loosened significantly when the unknown male spoke again.

"It's Jesse – Santana got pretty smashed tonight and Rachel is helping Dani put her to bed. I made sure the two got home okay, and the only reason I'm answering Rachel's phone is because I knew it would probably be you." Jesse knew he was much better off covering all the bases at once instead of letting any assumptions get into the soldiers mind. Rachel had told him how uneasy Finn had become after she saw him in Texas three months ago.

"Can you take over and put her on the phone, please?" Finn requested, feeling his patience wearing thin. It had been a long ass day and all he really wanted to do was talk to his girl.

"Sure thing, man." He had to give Jesse props, because he just seemed to know that now was not the time to keep him waiting. He heard muffled voices, and vaguely heard Santana yell for Jesse to not even think of getting frisky with her. He heard a door close before he heard Rachel's voice. "Everything okay?" He asked when she greeted him.

Thousands of miles away, Rachel nodded as she leant against her bedroom door for a moment before pushing off of it to go sit on her bed. "Everything's fine. What's wrong?" She heard the shortness of his tone, and knew something was off.

"It's just been a really, really long day." He responded, and Rachel bit her lip. It has been three days since his mother's accident, and this was the first time he's called her since.

"Did anything happen?"

"I wish I could tell you," was his response, and Rachel understood. Finn wasn't allowed to tell her anything until Falcon and Louis' families were notified first, and even then Finn wouldn't do it over a monitored line. "People are just really fucking stupid."

"Finn," Rachel scolded quietly, and he sighed. He knew she didn't like it when he used language like that on a regular basis. He muttered an apology under his breath.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine."

Finn's eyebrows furrowed. She was uncharacteristically quiet. Something was off. After a moment of silence, he groaned. "What's wrong, Rachel?"

"Now really isn't a good time to give you bad news, is it?"

Finn groaned again, resting his forehead against his hand. "No, but go ahead and tell me anyway."

"You have to promise me that you won't completely flip out, because everything is okay and she's already out of the hospital." Rachel winced when the words slipped out, because she knew she let too much slip at one time.

Finn sat up straight, suddenly alert and slightly panicked. "What? Who are you talking about?"

He heard Rachel inhale a gush of air and release it before she revealed to him what exactly she was talking about. "Your mother was on her way home from work Wednesday evening when an irresponsible teen that was texting on his cell phone ran a red light and crashed into her vehicle. She's okay." Rachel rushed out when she heard him starting to interrupt. "She had a mild concussion and she had to get pins in her arm and a few stitches, but she's okay. Burt took her home yesterday."

"This is un-freaking-believable." Finn exclaimed, throwing his hat against the wood of the booth.

"She's okay." Rachel reiterated. "She's already feeling much better. I spoke to her on the phone yesterday." She heard Finn let out a groan, and she was quiet as she let him absorb the information.

"What's gonna happen to the kid?" Was the first question out of Finn's mouth. Despite the fact that Finn clearly couldn't see her, Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm sure charges will be put against him accordingly. He was breaking the law, after all."

"Fucking good." Finn swore, "because I promise if nothing happened to him I would find the son of a bitch and kick his ass as soon as I landed."

"I promise I'll keep you informed on anything I find out." Rachel swore.

Finn sighed and ran a hand through his hair again. "This week really couldn't get any worse."

Rachel couldn't help but wince again, knowing she had something that indeed would make it worse. Instead, she just changed the subject and proceeded to tell him how Santana had mistaken the bouncer at the club tonight for a cop and had proceeded to drunkenly talk to him in the little pig Latin that she knew, simply because she thought it was hilarious that he was a cop and it was _pig_ Latin. She had got Finn to laugh, and she felt a little bit of relief course through her.

She would tell him about Brody later, she told herself. Yeah, later would be much better.

* * *

**OKAY! So before everyone brings out their pitch forks and flame throwers, or removes this from their alert list because of the whole Brody thing, DON'T PANIC! I have a plan and I just KNOW that you're all going to love it! **

**Please let me know what you thought of this chapter! Twenty or more reviews and the next chapter will be up on Sunday!**

**Also, if anyone is interested, the dress I pictured for the Tony Awards that Rachel was wearing is the dress she wore to the 2013 Golden Globes! It's gorgeous!**

**Review review review!**

**xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! I'm glad nobody seemed too mad at me for bringing Brody back in.** **This chapter was by far one of my favorites to write, because Finn is home! So I won't blabber about anything else and instead will just leave you to read! **

**Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Fourteen _

* * *

"Congrats on your Tony." Rachel looked up from fumbling with her keys, slightly startled.

"Oh, um, thank you." She spoke sincerely, albeit a little shocked.

Brody gave her a small smile and nodded. He had just been leaving his apartment when he saw her at her own door, getting ready to enter.

"You deserve it, Rachel. Honestly."

"I worked really hard." She agreed.

"You certainly did."

An awkward silence inserted itself into the tense conversation, and Rachel chewed on the inside of her lip. Did she say goodbye, or should she just go into her apartment without another word? She wasn't used to Brody being nice to her. As she got caught up in her pro-con list, Brody broke the silence.

"I'm moving out next month."

"Oh?" Rachel asked, genuinely surprised. His original lease had run up months ago and she just assumed that since he was still here, he had signed one for another two years.

"Yeah," Brody nodded, scratching at the back of his head. "I found a place a little cheaper and just as nice, and it's closer to where I want to be, so."

"Good for you." Rachel nodded, crossing her arms as she rocked on the balls of her feet. Another silence washed over the former couple.

"Look, Rach-" Her phone ringing broke Brody's speech off, and he watched as a delighted look took over her features as she peered at the screen. She looked back at him for a moment, gesturing to the phone and then to the door. "Right," he nodded, waving it off. "Maybe I'll talk to you later."

The smile she sent him was forced, he knew, and right before the door closed he heard an excited, "Hey, baby!"

Brody had been planning to tell her what he'd been meaning to for a long, long time now, but instead he was left standing in the hallway alone. Looking at her closed door, knowing she was in there talking to her military man of a boyfriend, Brody knew now more than ever that giving up Rachel Berry was his biggest mistake, and one he'd probably never be able to fix. Knowing she was the one that got away seriously sucked.

* * *

Fourth of July in New York was an almost magical experience for Rachel. She had organized an event featuring a bunch of her friends from Broadway for the troops and their families and it had gone off without a hitch. She was incredibly proud of herself. There was only a week left in the patriotic month, and it was a lazy Sunday morning in the Berry-Lopez residence. "I'm just saying, Shonda needs to get her life together and stop messing around with my emotions. Why the hell would she bring Jake back in the first place? _Jesus_." Rachel just nodded in agreement with Santana's rant. The DVR'd episode of _Scandal _was playing on their plasma in front of them, and Rachel scoffed as Olivia and Jake kissed again. She popped a piece of popcorn in her mouth while Santana chose to throw hers at the TV. "Boo! What the actual hell? He's not even cute!"

Rachel just shook her head, whether at the TV or at her best friend she couldn't decide, as she pulled herself up and off the couch. She made her way to the bar in the attached kitchen and picked up her ringing iPhone.

"Hey Q." She greeted happily after she saw the blonde's name on the caller ID.

"Rachel!" Quinn almost yelled, "They're coming home!"

Rachel's eyes widened almost comically and her voice was near a shriek when she responded, "What?"

"Shut up!" Santana yelled from the couch, but Rachel just waved her hand at the Latina. Knowing that she wasn't going to win this, Santana paused the TV with a scowl on her face.

"They're coming home! I just got off the phone with Rita Locke from the FRG and Bravo Company finally has a concrete return date!"

"Oh my God, when?" Rachel screamed, her excitement building at an alarming pace. When the blonde on the other end of the phone said three weeks, Rachel let out a sound that was even impressive for her.

"What the hell is your issue?" Santana wondered, looking at Rachel like she was losing her mind. The clearly less sane of the two grabbed onto her when she moved near and shook her in excitement.

"They're coming home, Santana!" There were tears shining in Rachel's eyes and she began giggling happily, her phone still pressed to her ear. "Finn is coming home!"

* * *

"Ready to get the hell out of dodge?"

Finn smirked as he reassembled the rifle he had just taken apart to clean, throwing his backpack on his back as soon as he was done. "Hell yeah."

Puck couldn't help but grin, holding his fist out to his brother. "You and me – we owned this shit. Iraq's got nothing on us."

"Nothing has ever stood a chance against Huderman, bro." Finn declared, touching his fist against Puck's as the two let out a short laugh. "One last mission. Let's get it the hell over it." He clipped his helmet on, adjusting the strap of the gun on his shoulder as he readied himself to go.

In two days time, Finn knew, he'd be crammed on a plane with barely any legroom with a bunch of sweaty, dirty soldiers.

He'd never been more excited in his life.

* * *

"Let me get your attention!" The excited chatter on the bus died down, and everyone turned their attention to the front where Finn was standing with Sergeant Jeremy Hall from the other platoon that was sharing the bus with them as they made their way across the base to the drop off site. Major Locke was standing on Hall's other side and had been the one who spoke. "I want to start off by saying that in the seven deployments I've had, this has been one of the best. You all have proven yourselves and your abilities, and it's been an honor serving with you."

"Hooah." Was echoed throughout the bus in sync.

"Now that wouldn't have really happened without the platoon Sergeants standing beside me. They're two of the best I've seen, and they've guided you to fulfill every mission you've set out on. Consider yourself lucky to have them as your leaders." Finn felt the pride swell up in him at his Major's words, and nodded at him gratefully. "So let's give them your attention. Gentlemen." The older man nodded at the two of them, tipping the bill of his hat before sitting back down.

"Alright, listen up!" Jeremy started, "we have a few announcements we need to make before we arrive at the drop off." They were only about two miles away now, and the anticipation and excitement was flowing in waves on the overly crowded bus filled with soldiers and equipment alike.

"You all are expected to report to formation tomorrow morning, 0700. Failure to do so will result in punishment that you'd rather not have to find out the details of." Finn spoke, his elbows bent and hands behind his back as he rocked on his heels.

"Hooah."

"Your allotted 14 day leave starts after formation and extends until the 29th. If you have leave saved up that you wish to take after that, paperwork will be filled out and submitted for consideration no later than three days before the desired time. Understood?"

"Hooah."

"If during your leave you plan to leave the state and/or the country, you will let one of your superiors know in case of emergency." Everyone agreed, and Jeremy continued. "Now, Sergeant Hudson and I have come up with a list that will be followed in the upcoming weeks." The emphasis on will was obvious, and the order was clear that everything about to be said not be taken as a joke.

"Firstly, there will be no DUI's acquired in the next two weeks. You will not drink and drive. You find yourself in a situation where that is your only option, you call one of us or someone else to come get you."

"And if you think you are going to find yourself in that situation where you have no one else to drive your ass home and you have no money for a cab or a bus, you remember that Sergeant Hudson and I both have beautiful women at home, and you reconsider having another drink." Jeremy said boldly, and Finn couldn't help the laugh that escaped him along with most of the bus. "Which brings us to number two – you will not hook up with anybody under the age of 18, consent or no consent." Laughs rang out again when he repeated himself, looking pointedly at one of the guys in his platoon.

"You will not pick fights with civilians." Finn stated, before adding with a smile, "Because we all know that wouldn't be a very fair fight."

"Hoo-fucking-ah" Puck stated, louder than the rest.

"You will not hit your wives, your children, or your animals - you feel yourself losing control, you walk away. You feel yourself slipping back to Iraq, you sit your ass down and pick up the phone."

"Do we make ourselves clear, Gentlemen?"

"Hooah!"

"Sergeant Hudson?" Jeremy asked, looking to Finn to see if he had anything else to say.

"It's been a hell of a year, guys. We're both proud of all of you and what you've done and accomplished. Let's not forget those who aren't with us right now that should be, so in honor of them, let's not make any stupid choices." Nods spread throughout the bus. Movement caught Finn's eye and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as they pulled into the parking lot where a sea of people waving American flags and holding signs were waiting.

"With that being said, welcome the hell home!" Sergeant Hall yelled, and the bus erupted in excited yells and shouts as the soldiers shook the back of the seats in front of them and stomped their feet against the floorboards of the bus.

They were finally _home_.

* * *

"I think I'm going to pass out. There's way too much freaking happiness around here and it's suffocating me." Santana quipped, huffing when someone accidently bumped into her again. "Seriously? We're in a freaking huge as hell-"

"Santana." Kurt warned, shaking his head at the Latina.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Lady Hummel. What the hell is tak-" Santana was cut off when the noise level around her suddenly got about ten times higher, and Rachel squealed from beside her as the busses came into view. "About damn time." She muttered. Not that she would ever, ever admit it out loud, but Santana was actually extremely excited to be here. She and Finn had actually communicated a little bit while he was away, and the freakishly tall man had grown on her.

And he made her best friend happier than she's ever been, so he had that going for him, too.

"Oh, that's the best sight in the world." Carole exclaimed, holding a hand over her heart. Her and Burt had arrived in New York yesterday to see their son home, and would be here for a few more days.

"You guys aren't going to start fighting for the first hug, are you?" Rachel rolled her eyes at her best friend and even through her excitement managed a scoff.

"That's his mother, Santana! And I saw him a few months ago. Don't be ridiculous." Rachel scolded.

Santana just smirked, and when the attention diverted from the pair she leaned in to speak in a hushed voice. "Need me to hold onto you so you don't take off?"

"Yes please."

Santana let out a laugh and looped her arm through Rachel's. She knew her way too well.

Within the next 90 seconds, everything seemed to go into an enjoyable, clustered chaos. Camouflage began pouring off the busses. Shouts of joy and squeals of delight filled the warm August air as soldiers were reunited with their loved ones. They were meeting babies for the first time and siblings were seeing their big brother or big sister for the first time in 11 months. Parents were getting their children back. It was so immensely beautiful.

"Does anybody see him?" Kurt asked, rising on his toes to try and see over the crowd.

"He'll find –"

"Daddy!" Rachel's attention diverted to little Beth when she let out the exclamation and basically forced herself out of her mother's grasp. "Daddy, daddy, daddy!"

"Hey baby girl!" Rachel couldn't help the happy tears that welled up in her eyes as she watched Puck pick his daughter up in a tight embrace, placing a multitude of kisses all over her face. "I missed you, squirt!"

"Missed you, daddy!"

Puck kissed her forehead again before his eyes focused on the other blonde among them. "Hey Q."

"Noah," she breathed out, a tear leaked from her green eyes as her husbands arms wrapped around her and his lips touched hers for the fist time in a long time.

Rachel tore her eyes away as her own need to see her respective other consumed her and she searched frantically through the crowd. She didn't know how many minutes passed by before she heard his voice and suddenly, he was right there and all that Rachel could see.

"Hey Mom." He laughed lightly, returning her embrace when the older woman threw her arms around her son. Happy sobs escaped her.

That was the first time she's ever seen the two together, and she could tell by the way they hung onto each other that they had a close relationship. Finn moved to hug Burt in a fatherly embrace, and Kurt almost knocked him backwards when he moved to him. The family of four stayed close together as the hugs were passed between them.

"Good to see you, man." Finn smiled, clasping Blaine's hand and touching their shoulders in the signature man hug. His eyes moved then, and his thousand-watt smile was suddenly on Rachel. She bit her lip as he moved the few steps over to her.

"Excuse me, miss, are you waiting for somebody?"

"My boyfriend, actually."

"He's an incredibly lucky guy to have a girl that's as beautiful as you."

"I think I'm the lucky one, actually. He's pretty spectacular."

"Spectacular, huh?" The two kept their eyes locked on each other's and smiles on their faces and Rachel nodded before she let out a wonderful giggle and took a step forward into Finn's arms. He picked her up off the ground and the skirt of her red sundress flowed behind her as he twirled her around. "It's so good to see you, baby." He mumbled into her hair as he held her.

"I missed you so much." He nodded, and before she could say anything else he pressed his lips against hers. The rest of the world faded away, and suddenly it was just the two of them. He kept her pulled against him and her feet remained off the ground for the duration of the kiss. She tasted sweet, just the way he remembered her. Her hands held onto the back of his neck, not willing to give him up just yet. She wondered briefly if this was what it would feel like to be in Heaven. She can't remember a single occurrence when she felt so at peace.

"God I missed you." He whispered the words when he leant his forehead against hers. He had to force himself to pull away from her before things got too heated because of their current setting.

"I'm so glad you're home." He smiled and connected their lips again, savoring the feeling for another long moment.

"Hey Satan." He smirked over Rachel's shoulder.

"GI Joe, always a pleasure." He barked out a hearty, sincere laugh as he enveloped the small Latina in his arms. "Welcome home." She whispered, clutching him for the smallest of moments.

"Thanks, Santana. It's good to be here." He kissed her temple when he pulled away, giving her a smile before throwing his arm around Rachel's shoulder and pulling her into his side. She wrapped both arms around his waist and breathed him in.

"Are you boys hungry?" Carole asked, not even bothering to try and hide the ecstatic smile on her face.

"You're kidding right? Hell yeah we're hungry!" Puck exclaimed, which earned a laugh from all of those surrounding him.

* * *

"So I'm going to stay at Dani's tonight." Santana spoke lowly so only Rachel could hear. They were sitting next to each other on the love seat in Kurt and Blaine's apartment. Puck and Quinn had gone to their own home after dinner, and the rest of them had retreated here.

There was a small decorative Christmas tree set up on a table by the fire place, and Finn had spent the last half an hour opening various gifts for him since he missed both Christmas and his birthday. He was deep in conversation with Burt and Carole on the other side of the room now. He had showered and changed into jeans and a navy polo. Standing there with a cold beer bottle in his hand, Rachel couldn't help but smile at how relaxed he looked.

Taking notice of the silly smile on the brunettes face, Santana snickered. "Oh yeah, I'm definitely not going to be near our apartment tonight."

Across the room, Carole smiled fondly at her son. "She's wonderful, Finn."

He cast a glance to where Rachel was talking with Santana. He felt the lopsided grin slide onto his face as he watched her laugh.

"She really is."

"There aren't many women like her out there. Hold onto her." His mother advised, and when Finn told her that was exactly what he planned to do, she brought him into what seemed like the hundredth hug in the last few hours. "I'm so proud of you, honey."

"You're not gonna start crying again, are you?"

Carole laughed and shook her head as she pulled away and swatted at his chest playfully.

"Would you mind if I stayed with her tonight?"

"Not at all. I know you have to be on base tomorrow and that you've missed her. I'm cooking dinner so why don't you guys swing by around six?"

Finn smiled at her, and about 45 minutes later he found himself walking side by side with Rachel toward the door of her apartment. His camouflage backpack was slung over his shoulder and his hand was clasped tightly in hers. This counts as the first time they'd been alone all day. They were walking in silence and both could feel the heated desire in the air swirling around them.

Rachel peaked a glance at him, and her breath caught when she saw his eyes were on her, too. Her hands were shaking when she got her keys out of her bag and it took her three tries to insert the proper key into the lock. Once inside, the air was almost stifling. Rachel was setting her bag down on the armchair when she felt his hands on her arms. He murmured her name, and she couldn't help herself but to turn around and frantically press her lips against his like she had been fighting to do all day. His hands gripped her hips and she felt herself wrapping her legs around his waist when he hoisted her up.

She doesn't even remember him moving, but soon she felt herself being laid down on her mattress. She let out a loud gasp as Finn's lips attached to her neck, sucking and lightly biting the skin. "I missed you so much." he spoke lightly, moving across her collarbone.

"Finn," She breathed. He felt her tugging his shirt up from the back. He picked his upper body off of her and quickly removed the garment. He paused before leaning back down. His hands ran from her thighs, up her sides, pushing her dress up as they traveled their path. Her hair fanned out beneath her when he pulled the dress off her, discarding it on the floor with his shirt.

"You're so sexy, Rachel." His voice was low, and Rachel bit her lip as his eyes raked over her. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her toned stomach, repeating the motion until he reached her lips again.

"Please, Finn." Her voice was breathless and Finn felt it go straight south. His fingers gripped the sides of her lacy underwear and pulled the black material down before throwing it to join the pile of clothes on the floor. Her toes pushed at the waistband of his boxers until they were down far enough that he could kick them off and the two were left lying against each other, skin to skin. Their erratic heartbeats synced together as they kissed.

"I need you so bad, baby." His baritone voice was husky with lust, and Rachel could imagine what he was feeling right now. She was lucky enough to see him in March, but the nearly five months since then had left her needy and wanting, too.

"You have me." Her words were a promise as she pulled his lips back to hers and spoke against them. "I'm yours." She felt him at her entrance as soon as the words escaped her. A loud cry fell from her lips when he pushed forward.

"Oh God." Finn groaned, not even pausing to let the feel of being inside of her wash over him and instead letting his thrusts become frantic as he pulled out of her only to plunge right back in. "This isn't – this isn't going to last long." He was panting and Rachel was moaning under him and it had just been too long since he'd been buried in her love like this and _fuck_. It was too amazing.

"I love you." The words mixed in with a gasp of pleasure a few minutes later, and it was exactly what Finn needed to tip over the edge. The feel of him spilling inside of her had Rachel following him over. He rested his weight on her for a few moments as he took the time to try and get his breathing under control. Rachel's small hands rubbed up and down his sweaty back, and he felt her soft lips press against the side of his head as his forehead rested against her shoulder. "I missed you so much, honey. Welcome home."

* * *

**Aaaaahhhh, I love it! I hope it lived up to y'alls expectations! **

**Being there when soldiers come home from a deployment is seriously one of the best feelings in the world. And if anyone understood my Scandal reference in the beginning, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about when Santana said Shonda was ruining her life, because I'm pretty sure she's ruining mine! Anyway, this isn't about Scandal, so let me know your thoughts on the reunion of everyones favorite Glee couple! **

**Review review review! **

**xx**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter for you. It's not the longest but it's definitely one of the turning points of the story. The big Brody reveal! I planned out the other day just how I'm going to end this story, and it's bittersweet knowing that it's going to be happening soon. I'd say there's only about four or five, maybe less, chapters left. But no fear, I have a short little story planned that I'm going to be starting on soon. It's only going to pen out to be about five chapters as the whole story, but I think all those smut lovers out there will like it! I'll probably post it a few days following the conclusion of this. **

**But that's still a few weeks off, so let's focus on the next chapter of Travelin' Soldier! Enjoy! **

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Fifteen_

* * *

The first nightmare happened the second night Finn was home. They had fallen asleep a little after midnight and the clock on the bedside table read 3:48 when movement woke Rachel up. She was confused at first until she registered the shaking was coming from behind her as she lay on her side. She blindly reached for the light, squinting against the initial assault of the brightness intruding on her bedroom before turning over and sitting up. She was alarmed almost immediately.

There was a sheet of sweat covering the portion of Finn's body that was visible to her. His eyes were clenched shut and he was visibly trembling, his head thrashing from side to side against the pillow. His breathing was labored like he was in pain and Rachel would wonder later if that's what was actually occurring in his state of unconsciousness.

"Finn." She spoke softly, placing her small hand on his arm, rubbing up and down slowly. "Finn honey wake up." The trashing got worse right along with Rachel's worry. "Baby," she tried again, rising on her knees beside him. She shook him gently, placing her other hand on his cheek. "Finn wake up." A sharp gasp escaped through Finn's dry lips as a similar sound left Rachel's. His hands had grabbed onto her wrists tightly, forcing them from her body. Her worried eyes met his, but they were unfamiliar. These eyes were cold and distant and dark; they weren't the soft amber that Rachel was used too.

"Finn." Rachel spoke calmly, swallowing her fear and anxiety that was bubbling up in her. Help Finn, she told herself, don't worry about you. "Finn, honey it's me. It's Rachel. It was just a dream, baby." His grip didn't loosen on her, and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth momentarily before lightly tugging her wrists toward her own body. "Finn let me go."

The feel of her trying to loosen his grip allowed another loud gasp to escape from the dazed man, who quickly let go of her and abandoned her on the bed to stand up beside it. "Oh my God." A hand ran through his hair as the other hung limply by his side. "Oh my God, baby I'm so sorry."

"Hey," Rachel spoke softly. "It's alright."

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me." Rachel assured him, shaking her head. "I'm okay."

"I didn't mean to grab you like that."

"Finn it's okay." She stressed, moving from her knees to sit Indian style. She held out both hands to him, letting him know that she wanted him to clasp them and when he did, slowly, she pulled him to sit down with her. "You were having a nightmare. Was it about Iraq?" With a shaky breath, Finn nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," He answered with a shake of his head, "I got them last time, too." He assured her. "They happen less and less overtime."

"Okay," Rachel nodded, rubbing her thumbs over his. "You didn't hurt me. You didn't know what you were doing." She reiterated as she saw him eyeing her wrists.

"If that happens again… don't touch me, okay?"

She looked at him confused, cocking her head to the side. "I don't want you to be stuck in a nightmare, Finn."

"Just – " Finn released a deep sigh, retracting one of his hands from hers to run over his head as he searched his mind for solutions. "Just get off the bed and call for me from a few feet away, okay?"

"Finn," Rachel admonished in slight disbelief.

"I'm serious, Rachel." The look in his eyes confirmed that. The brunette girl knew there was no budging him on this one. "You don't want to know what some soldiers have ended up doing to their wives, or their siblings or whoever it is that's trying to wake them up out of a nightmare. I don't want to hurt you." His tone meant business, so with a resigned sigh Rachel nodded. With a sigh, Finn cupped her cheek and leaned forward. He pressed a small kiss to her lips and had to refrain himself from apologizing again.

"Let's just go back to sleep, alright?"

Finn took the suggestion, and when Rachel turned the lamp off he pulled her body in close. His arm was secure around her small body and he let himself bury his face in her waves of dark hair. He let her scent calm him as he breathed it in. Like a mother to her disgruntled child, Rachel began singing softly under her breath, and with the charm of her voice, Finn drifted into a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night.

* * *

Only one more nightmare had occurred in the week following the first that had woken Rachel up along with him, and Finn was grateful that they didn't seem to be occurring as much this time around. In the weeks after arriving back stateside from his first deployment overseas, nightmares happened multiple times a night for the young man who had experienced combat for the first time. It was like a real life horror movie playing over and over in his head, and it really left him on edge until they gradually started going away with time.

They didn't seem to be so bad this time. Finn didn't have to think hard to know why; with Rachel sleeping by his side he couldn't help but to get a good nights sleep.

"I don't think I ever saw myself saying, let alone actually meaning, that I missed seeing a Broadway show so much." Rachel giggled at Finn's words, wiping away the green makeup on her face that hadn't come off in the shower.

"Thank you for sitting through it again tonight."

"Course, baby." Finn smiled at her from his spot on the couch in her dressing room. "Though I have to say I think I'm going to call it quits soon, cause I've watched Wicked seven times in the past five days and my brain is starting to process everything anybody says to me in song." Rachel let out a loud laugh then before moving to him. Her short black robe felt silky under his fingertips as his hands settled on her waist when she planted herself in his lap, her knees on the couch on either side of him. "I'm not sure how you do this all the time."

"Eh," the songstress shrugged, "it's what I love to do."

Finn hummed against her skin as he kissed her cheek lovingly. "You know what I love to do?"

"What's that?" Rachel whispered, as the air around them got increasingly warmer. She couldn't help the small rotation of her hips when Finn tugged on her earlobe before whispering into it sensually.

"You."

She giggled despite the sensation that shot through her at the statement. "Perhaps that can be arranged," grasping his face in her hands, Rachel kissed him soundly. His hands splayed across her back, pushing their chests against each other as she remained on his lap. Finn was just pulling at the silky belt when there was a knock on the door. As per usual, Jesse let himself in and quickly closed the door behind him.

"Jesse," Rachel groaned, "please vacate yourself from the room."

"I'm going to chose to ignore the fact that you're both about two minutes away from getting it on and tell you right now to stop and for Rachel to get dressed so this doesn't look totally horrible."

"Horrible for what?" Finn asked, resting his forehead on the apex between Rachel's shoulder and neck. He breathed in the scent of her in appreciation as he rubbed his hands up and down her sides.

Letting the smirk slip onto his face, Jesse responded. "I ran back here as soon as I saw them because I knew you were both here and guessed you'd be doing precisely this – Rachel's dads are here and are milling around backstage, probably headed this way."

Finn's eyes widened as he slowly picked his head up to look at the dark haired boy across the small room.

The smirk was full blown across Jesse's face, and he turned to open the door he had been leaning on. "I'll stall them – three minutes!"

Turning his gaze to Rachel's slowly, Finn cocked his head to the side. "Your dads?"

"I didn't know they were coming!" Rachel defended immediately, before her eyes widened to the same size as Finn's as the realization dawned on her. "Oh my God, my dads are here and I'm completely naked under this robe!" She scurried off Finn's lap just as he let out a pained groan.

"That wasn't a visual I needed when I'm about to meet your fathers', baby!"

Rachel just waved him off as she frantically threw on her clothes. "They never just surprise me like this!"

"Think I might have anything to do with that?" Finn asked, standing up and scratching at his head as nerves started to set in. He'd never been good with meeting parents, especially dads. Of course the girl he fell in love with would have _two. _

"Probably. They knew you came home, of course, and they also knew I wasn't going to be able to call off work to go visit them and drag you with me. Typical of them to do something like this." Rachel shook her head as she pulled her skirt on over her underwear, adjusting her shirt when she was done with that. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful." Finn answered honestly. She smiled at him lovingly and opened her mouth to speak just when there was a knock on the door. His eyes widened and he looked at her in panic.

"It's alright." She said as she walked toward the door, "just be yourself and they'll love you!"

* * *

Rachel had pretty much been right about her fathers. They took a liking to the tall soldier almost immediately when they saw how he looked at their beloved daughter. They could see the love shining in his eyes whenever he looked or spoke of her and it warmed the older couples hearts to know that their daughter found love like she did.

Finn got rid of his nerves for good and found it easy to chat animatedly with the two gentlemen over lunch the next day. They found common ground over a variety of topics and it was relieving to all parties involved.

They only stayed in the city for that first night and the next day before returning home, and Rachel and Finn went right back to the routine they had developed in the week he'd been home. He would spend time at his brother's home and occasionally even with Santana while Rachel was working if he didn't go see the show and any other minute of the day the couple would spend together. They re-familiarized with each other quickly and it was almost like Finn was never even gone.

Almost.

Finn still had nightmares occasionally. And he was jumpy and on edge and there had even been one occurrence where Rachel and Finn were cuddled on the couch in her apartment watching television and Santana dropped a glass in the kitchen. The sound had sent Finn to his feet and his heart racing. But he was adjusting to being back home; it would take time before he was a hundred percent comfortable again. That was just how it went after a deployment. Rachel had done enough research to know that.

"She really loves you, you know." Finn smiled softly, nodding his head at the blonde girl in Santana's life that had approached him. It was the Friday before Finn went back to work. His two-week leave ran up on Monday and it was back to the real world. They were at the bar that Finn and Rachel had originally met in. A few buddies from Finn's unit were here, as was Kurt and Blaine and Santana and her girlfriend, Dani, who was speaking to him now.

"I love her too."

"I've known Rachie for as long as I've known San. I've never seen her so happy."

"I'm glad I'm the one that makes her that way." Finn smiled sincerely, finishing off his drink and setting the empty bottle on the bar behind him. He shook his head and held up his hand when the bartender asked if he wanted another.

"She deserves to be happy. Especially after that horrible relationship she had just gotten out of when I met her. Santana filled me in on all the details and I have to say, Rachel was right in kicking Ken doll to the curb." Finn just forced a smile, finding himself uncomfortable talking about Brody. He was going to change the subject when Dani dropped the bombshell on him. "I still can't believe Rachel let him come work with the cast a few months ago. She's just that nice of a person, I guess."

"Excuse me?" Finn demanded, his brows furrowing and his eyes narrowing at the blondes words.

"Yeah…he's been teaching…" Dani trailed off as she noticed the fire in the tall male's eyes. "Oh no."

"Excuse me, will you?" Dani's eyes were wide and her mouth hung open slightly as she watched Finn stalk away from her toward where Rachel was chatting with some friends of hers. "Santana!" She called frantically, weaving through the crowd to reach her own girlfriend. "I think I just did something really stupid."

* * *

"Can we go?" Rachel could sense how tense Finn was from the tone of his voice and from how stiff his body was. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"We've only been – "

"Rachel. Let's go." Her eyes widened slightly. She wasn't used to this tone. He had never used it with her before.

"I-yeah, okay. Let's go." She sent Quinn a reassuring smile when the blonde gave her a concerned look, but Rachel was confused. He had been fine all night. What happened?

She tried to ask him what was wrong walking outside, and then again in the cab, but Finn remained silently. She unlocked her door and walked in slowly. She dropped her clutch and keys on the table beside the door as Finn began pacing in front of the couch.

"Finn…" she began softly, "please tell me what's wrong? Why did you want to leave all of a sudden?"

"When were you going to tell me?" He gritted out after a long, tense moment of silence. His fists were clenched at his sides and Rachel could see the veins beginning to throb.

"Tell you what?" She asked quietly as a dreadful feeling entered her stomach.

He turned to her quickly, and the level of his voice made her jump slightly. "That your fucking douche of an ex boyfriend that almost caused you to get raped was working with you!"

Rachel was stunned. She felt the color draining from her face as she tried to form words. "When-how did you…?"

"It doesn't fucking matter how I found out, Rachel! Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't – I mean you were over there and – "

"Don't give me that bullshit, Rachel!"

"It's not! I knew you would be mad and I didn't want to worry you!"

"So you kept it from me?" Finn seethed, "you should have fucking told me the moment that he started working there. He had no god damn right to just take a job there…" Finn trailed off when he saw Rachel cast her eyes downward, and his own amber iris' turned to slits at the guilt that spread across her face. "Rachel."

"He – he came to me in May. He told me that he needed a job and that the only decent one was offered on the Wicked set working with the new crew members. He wanted to tell me about it before he took it."

"How thoughtful of him."

Rachel sighed, running a hand through her hair. If there was anything she knew, she knew this would just end even worse if she didn't tell him the whole truth. "He said if I didn't want him to take it, he wouldn't."

Finn froze at her words. He looked at her like he didn't even know her, and Rachel could feel her heart breaking. "You've got to be fucking kidding."

"Finn I couldn't just let him go unemployed. I'm not that type of person! And I've never worked with him!" She got close enough to touch him, but when she reached out he pulled his arm away and took a step away from her.

"You willingly put yourself in a situation with him when you know my opinion on him, Rachel. You let him back into your life when you know that's the last thing I ever wanted. I was over _there_ being shot at and watching people die around me, and you were getting cozy with your ex."

"Finn!" Rachel gasped, "that's not true and you know it!"

"Do I?" Finn challenged, "because I've seen it happen plenty, Rach! Guys who have been together with their girl for years, married even, have been cheated on when they're away!"

"You think I cheated on you?" She yelled, put out by the thought and staggering from the hurt that hit her.

"I don't know, did you?"

"I would never do that! I haven't even had a conversation with him!"

"I can't be here right now." He was shaking his head as he picked his jacket up off the couch that he had thrown it on. "I can't even fucking look at you right now, Rachel!" He yelled when she reached out to stop him and plead with him not to go. She jumped back from him. "I thought I could trust you! God damnit!" She held her hand to her mouth to keep from sobbing as his hand connected with the lamp that was on the side table. It smashed against the floor, and the table was quick to flip upside down when he kicked at it. He was breathing hard, one hand on his hip as the other ran over his face. He didn't hit or kick anything else, to which Rachel was glad because he was scaring her, and that was one emotion she never thought he would evoke within her.

"I have to go." He said after a tense moment of silence. He shrugged on his jacket quickly.

"Finn-" Rachel's attempt to talk to him was desperate, and the look he threw her over his shoulder zipped her lips tightly.

"I can't right now, Rachel. I just –" Finn shook his head, deciding not to say whatever it was that he was going too. "I gotta go."

The door slammed behind him, and as Rachel sunk to the couch as the sobs consumed her, all she could think was what had she done?

* * *

**I do believe this is the first time I've ended a chapter with a cliff hanger like that, so I think I have some rights. Haha. **

**What did you guys think? How soon should Finchel make up? Should Finn confront Brody or run into him? What do you guys want to see? **

**Drop me a review letting me know! **

**xx**


	16. Chapter 16

**PLEASE READ: Author's Note: Hey y'all. I think I need to clear a few things up before proceed into reading this next chapter. First and foremost, a few of y'all were confused on if Finn is home for good or if he's only home for a two week grace period before going back to Iraq. He's home for good. The military, or at least every instance I've experienced, gives you an R&R (rest and relaxation) period after a deployment to reunite with your family and everything like that. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that. Another thing is that y'all were like, super shocked that Finn reacted the way that he did. We all know Finn always had a little bit of a temper on him, and I played a little into the possibilities of PTSD. It's very, very common in soldiers, and I think all will be explained in this chapter that you need to know. But if you're unclear on something, please PM me or ask me in a review where I can respond to you directly. I don't want anybody to be confused on anything. Also. Rachel isn't the typical Rachel like she is in the show. This story is AU and that bleeds through into the characters sometimes, so if she does things that are kind of un-Rachel like, please remember that. **

**Alrighty, now that that's out of the way, here's the next chapter for y'all! Hope you like it! **

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, unfortunately. **

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Sixteen _

* * *

"Rachel, I'm so sorry." Dani repeated for what was probably the tenth time as she stood at the edge of the living room in the 'Pezberry' apartment.

"It's not your fault. I should have told him." Rachel hiccupped, another tear escaping. Santana smiled sadly at her girlfriend before turning her attention back to her best friend. She rubbed soothing circles on her back as she sat on the couch with her.

"It's my fault."

"Berry." Santana sighed.

"No," Rachel argued with a firm shake of her head, "everybody told me to tell him! Everybody! But I didn't listen! I had multiple opportunities and I irrationally chose to let my fear rule my decisions. Now I lost him."

"Please, if Finn breaks up with you for this then he's nowhere near as smart as what I gave him credit for. Every couple fights, babygirl. Does it suck that your first fight was a complete blowout? Yeah, it does. But he's not going to break up with you."

"He was so angry, Santana! You didn't see him."

"Really? The broken lamp I paid a hundred bucks for and the turned over end table didn't give that away." Santana spoke sarcastically with a role of her eyes. Turning completely serious, she squeezed Rachel's arm until she looked at her with her bloodshot, watery eyes. "Be serious with me with this Rachel. He didn't touch you, did he?"

Rachel let out a dramatic, scandalous gasp as she covered her heart with her hand like she was shocked Santana would even think that. "No! No, Santana, no."

"I just had to be sure." Santana justified, holding her hands up in surrender. "He did a number on our furniture."

"It's probably PTSD." Dani spoke up. Both girls looked at her with a question in their expressions. The blonde shrugged. "I do have a degree in Psychology, you know. PTSD is really common in the military, especially so soon after combat. I've noticed how Finn jumps in his skin a little bit when the door slams or something like that. It's like a gunshot in his head. And finding out about Brody made him angry," She sent Rachel another apologetic look, "so he completely lost it. It was probably a bunch of pent up anger he's had. It was good that he was able to channel it and took it out on something inanimate."

Rachel groaned and dropped her face in her hands for no more than a second before she looked at Santana with wide, frantic eyes. She grabbed at the Latina's hands. "Santana he can't get in trouble!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I-I don't know where he went! If he picks a fight with somebody because of how angry he is at me he could get in a lot of trouble! Just three days ago he had to make a trip to bail one of his guys out of jail and he got in so much trouble! That can't happen to Finn."

"I'm sure he's smarter than that."

"I need to go find him." Rachel stood and managed to take two steps before Santana yanked her back down.

"I think the last person that needs to go find him is you, Rachel." She managed to look offended, and Santana sighed. "No offense, but you're the person he's ticked at. A public dispute wouldn't be the smartest thing."

"But I need to find him."

Sighing again, Santana shook her head before standing up herself. "I'll go."

"Really?" Rachel looked at her, and damnit if that hopeful look that Santana could never really say no to wasn't on her face. Santana just waved her off as she walked to her room. When she came back, she was in a pair of jeans and a tank top instead of the dress she was wearing. Strappy sandals covered her feet instead of the red stilettos she had on before.

"Stay with her?" Dani nodded, kissing her quickly when she walked over to her before taking a seat next to Rachel on the couch.

"Thank you, Santana."

"You just better hope he doesn't start a fight with me, because I don't care if he has combat training, I'll knock him on his ass."

* * *

_I'm so sorry, Finn. Please come back. _

The words stared back at him as he sat in a stool at the bar he was in, taking healthy drinks from his glass. He had received about seven other messages similar to that in the two hours that had passed since he stormed out on her.

He knew that he probably scared her with his outburst, but he was just so _angry. _The only thing he could picture in his mind was Brody being around her when he wasn't, and then the visuals would start on what Brody had done to her and it made red cloud his vision all over again.

Why had she been so stupid?

He sighed as he took another drink, finishing off the glass and motioning for another. He had taken his first sip when a familiar voice wafted into his ear as the seat beside him became occupied. "You know you owe me two hundred bucks, right?" He raised his eyebrow at Santana as she ordered herself a gin on the rocks.

"For what?"

She sent him a pointed look as she took a sip from the glass. "That was a hundred dollar lamp you decided to smash against our hardwood floor."

"So why do I owe you two?"

The Hispanic shrugged. "Emotional distress. I really liked that lamp." Finn just rolled his eyes, turning back to his drink. "Let's talk, Finnessa."

"That's your worst nick name yet."

Remaining ignorant toward the insult, Santana continued on. "Rachel's worried about you."

"I don't want to talk about this Santana."

"Well that's too damn bad." She snapped. Finn couldn't help but jump a little bit when she slammed her hand down on the bar and grabbed onto his knee, forcing his body to turn toward her. "You want to come into my apartment, scare my best friend with your temper and then take all your anger out on our furniture? Nuh uh buddy, you aren't gonna get away without a conversation."

Sighing in defeat because he knew she was right, Finn waved his hand in front of them. Santana nodded at his compliance to continue.

"You know she would never, and I mean _never_ cheat on you right?"

"I know."

"So why the hell would you accuse her of that? With _Brody_ of all people."

Finn clenched his jaw at the name. "Santana…"

"Do you not know Rachel at all? You should have given her a chance to explain herself to you, Finn. She doesn't have contact with him. Should she have told you? Hell yeah she should have. We all told her that because we knew something like this was going to happen. But you had absolutely no excuse to blow up at her like you did. I know you're angry and I know you just got back from Iraq and your temper is shit right now, but Rachel didn't need to see you lose control like that. I shouldn't have had to ask her if you put a hand on her because of how unpredictable you are."

"Santana…" Finn said, shaking his head as the reality of _his_ part in this hit him. "I would never raise a finger to her."

"Well I'm glad to hear that. Look, I'm not here to tell you what to do. But I needed you to see that you scared her, and also that no, you're not at fault here. That's on Rachel. She should have told you. But she has her reasons for letting him work there, idiot. I don't blame you for getting angry, but maybe you should consider hearing her out, yeah?" She stood then, sending him one last look over her shoulder. "Pay for my drink and we'll consider it as a partial payment for the lamp and table that you _will_ be paying for." She walked away then, leaving Finn alone at the bar like he had been not ten minutes ago. He heaved out a deep breath and closed his eyes.

After a few minutes, he motioned for the bartender to come over, and he handed a fifty-dollar bill to the balding older man. "Keep the change." He didn't wait for a response before he turned and walked toward, and then out, the door.

* * *

_Just need some time to think._ _Have a good two-show day._

Not for the first time that day, Rachel found herself studying the words. She had received the text message from Finn early that morning, and every message she sent him in return went unanswered. Santana told her of the conversation they had in the bar last night and assured her he would come around once he cooled down, but what did that mean? How much time did she need to give him? She mulled over the text again. She was sure she was going to draw blood from how hard she was biting her lip as she thought of everything that Finn may be thinking about.

Was he disgusted with her? Did he even want to see her? Oh God, was he going to break up with her?

The sheer thought of that had Rachel's tear ducts working again.

It had been seven hours since he sent the text. That was a good, substantial amount of time, right? She couldn't let him overthink things. With that, the decision was made. She jumped up from the couch in her dressing room where she had been resting between the Saturday matinee performance and the evening performance and grabbed her bag off the table. She ran as fast as she could through the crowded backstage area and to the elevator that would take her down and outside. She sent a simple text to Jesse explaining that she wouldn't be there for the evening performance. He would sort things out for her, she knew.

Right now she didn't care about going on as Elphaba. She didn't care about Wicked, or Broadway, or getting in trouble with her director. All she cared about was finding her boyfriend and explaining herself to him; she would beg if she had too, but she needed him to forgive her.

She just needed him.

* * *

Finn sat at the bench in central park with his elbows resting on his knees, rubbing his hands together as he stared ahead of him. His gaze wasn't on anything particular, but his thoughts had him transfixed. He wondered about the choices he's made so far. They hadn't been horrible, he concluded. He didn't regret a whole lot. He hadn't been a misguided kid like a lot of his friends had. He had a pretty solid family life and he had been raised right. He joined the military and climbed the ranks quickly and he knew he was a damn good soldier; he had been told so on several, several occasions.

He couldn't help but wonder, though, that if he was such a good soldier, why did his mind do this to him?

It was more common than not for soldiers to feel some type of withdrawal from the battle when reuniting with their families and being stateside again. Finn would be lying if he said he didn't feel that.

He found himself thinking about his latest deployment more than he probably should, even if he had convinced himself and those around him that he was fine. It's not that he felt guilty for what had happened on his watch. He was actually proud of how successful the tour had been. But he found himself going back and seeing the faces of innocent civilians that had gotten caught in the crossfire and the sight of crumbled villages that didn't stand a chance against the heavy American artillery. If he closed his eyes and really thought about it, he could smell the smoke of burning buildings and hear the frantic screams and the gunfire. Sometimes he even swore he could still feel his assault rifle in his grasp.

Finn knew it wasn't that bad and that it could definitely be worse. But it was frustrating. And that frustration bled into anger. He was on edge, and he knew he was bound to lose it eventually.

He just never expected Rachel to be that trigger.

Deep down, Finn knew that Rachel would never cheat on him. He _knew_ that. But he had every right to be angry. She had, in a sense, betrayed him. He told her that he wanted her nowhere near her ex-boyfriend, and yet she got him a freaking job.

Then the guilt kicked in.

Finn closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Did he really have to react the way he did? He knew the answer was no. He also knew that in any other situation, he would have been rational enough to hear her out. But once again, Iraq had butted itself into his life and his relationship. He'd been harboring negative feelings since returning home and finding out Rachel kept something, especially something of that significance, from him just made him…snap.

He snapped, and she had to witness it. He let his mind go back to last night and the fear and shock mixed together on her face flashed behind his eyes and he hated a part of himself for causing those emotions to play out on her beautiful features.

And Santana had been wary enough to have to ask her if he had assaulted her.

Finn dropped his head into his hands and let his fingers rub at his temples almost aggressively as he felt the budding headache.

This was beyond messed up.

He wasn't sure how long he sat like that, on a bench in Central Park on the warm Saturday evening. He was sure a substantial amount of time had passed, if not for the slightly cooling temperature then the fading sun. But he didn't move. Not until her voice breathing his name in relief pulled him out of the deep confines of his mind.

"Rachel."

"Hi." She whispered, twisting her fingers together in front of her nervously.

"You're supposed to be on stage right now." With a simple shrug of her shoulder Rachel told him that she had a standby and an understudy to cover her. "How did you find me here?"

"I went to Kurt's apartment." She explained, nodding. "He told me you weren't there and that you said you were going to clear your head but that he didn't know where you went."

"So what led you to central park?"

"This is one of the places I come to." She smiled softly, almost sadly, even. "It's surprisingly serene even when there's an over abundance of tourists and patrons alike."

Finn felt his lip quirk, nodding at her as he shifted over. He tilted his head at the space he had just created beside him.

With a deep breath, Rachel hesitantly sat down beside him.

"Why would you keep something like that from me?" The question came after multiple moments of silence and Finn could see the tears well up in her amazing brown orbs.

"I-I was going to tell you. I just…I just didn't."

Her hand paused as it was reaching for his before she thought better of it and brought it back to rest on her lap.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just kept finding reasons not too."

"Did you ever think that maybe that was because you knew it was wrong?" She was silent, and Finn let out a long sigh. "All I wanted was for you to be safe, Rach. And I don't feel like you are if you're ever near him. Not after what you told me about him."

"I know." She whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Tell me why you let him even near you, let alone why you let him work with you."

"I've never actually worked –" Finn sent her a pointed look, and Rachel took a deep breath. "When Brody and I first started dating, he was a TA. He had got through school on financial aid and student loans and he was working three jobs. He was barely surviving in school until he got his first good job after it. He was a choreographer for a music video and the pay gave him a really good start. That's one of the main reasons he was able to afford moving into this building – which he doesn't live in anymore by the way." Finn's eyebrows knitted together at the information and he felt relief spread through him, but he did nowhere near understand everything yet. "I knew he was working from job to job. Wicked is only something temporary, but the job through Broadway is secure for at least three years. He wasn't going to be able to afford to live like he'd grown so used to if he didn't have something stable. I – I don't know. I felt bad for him, I guess. I knew the person he was, and he wasn't always a pompous miscreant. When he came to me I asked him if I said no if he would still take the job. He said he wouldn't, Finn, and that's how I knew this wasn't about me. This was truly about him and working. I wouldn't have felt right if I took the opportunity away from anybody. Even him. Even after…everything." She trailed off quietly, letting her explanation hang in the air for him to process.

Finn rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. Her words circulated through his head and a part of him hated that he knew her reasoning was because she was just a selfless person the majority of the time. He just hated that it was him she was being selfless toward.

It was quiet again. She wrung her hands together in front of her and her teeth had a tight grip on her bottom lip. "You're not –" Rachel took a shaky breath and averted her gaze to the sky. "You're not going to break up with me, are you?"

Finn let out another loud sigh, and when more tears started welling up in Rachel's eyes, he turned his body and closed the distance between the two of them as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not breaking up with you." He assured her, "Not when I'm just getting a real chance of being with you." He felt the breath of relief she let out and how her body stopped tensing. Her arms circled around him securely.

"Do you understand why I got mad?"

Rachel nodded quickly and Finn felt it through his shirt, "Yes."

"I didn't mean to scare you. My temper gets the best of me and it's worse since I just got home. I was pissed but I shouldn't have lost it like that."

"You scared me." She admitted quietly.

Finn sighed. "I know. It'll get better."

"I can ask him to quit, you know." The words were muttered under her breath after a few moments of silence. Finn closed his eyes as he breathed in a gush of air and prayed for the strength to get the words out.

"I'm gonna wipe my hands of this, Rach."

"What's that mean?" She asked curiously, pulling away to look at his face but keeping her hold on him.

"It means that I'm going to trust you," he said, "and I'll trust that you're telling me the truth when you say you don't have any contact with him."

"Thank you." She whispered.

Finn kissed her lips softly, and when he pulled back Rachel buried her face in his neck, as they remained seated on the bench. "Just tell me if something happens. Please." She nodded against him, and he felt the feather light touch of her lips against the skin on his neck.

This wasn't easy for him, not by a long shot. But he knew it was the right thing to do. Letting out another sigh, Finn kissed Rachel's forehead and tightened his grip around her. He could only hope that things could only go up from here.

* * *

"I don't want you to go back to work."

Finn let out a smirk as he pulled on his uniform jacket, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. She was lying on her bed, which in the past two weeks has basically been _their_ bed, with her head propped up on her hand as she watched him dress. Her hair was mused from their late night activities and sleep and she let out a tired yawn. It was just a little before six and Finn knew he had to be out of here in the next twenty minutes if he was going to make it back to Brooklyn and on base in time. "It won't be so bad." He tried to amend. "You'll see me tomorrow."

Rachel let out a long whine. "You aren't coming back here tonight?"

"It's the unit's first day back on base. You know how much paperwork and other stuff is going to go on today? I'll probably be working until at least nine or ten. I was just going to stay on base tonight. Besides, this is your and Santana's apartment and I've been intruding for the past two weeks."

"Not intruding." Rachel pouted. Her bottom lip was jutted out and everything. "I've loved having you here and Santana is at Dani's half the time anyway." Finn just sent her a smile. He wanted to come back here, more than anything actually, but he knew it wasn't particularly realistic. He leant down to kiss her as he stuffed his wallet in his pocket.

"I'll call you tonight."

"How can I persuade you to stay?" Rachel wondered, tugging on his arm.

Finn laughed. "If I stay then I'll be reported AWOL."

"It can't be that serious." He just raised an eyebrow, and Rachel pouted again. "Awh, stupid Army!"

Letting out a chuckle, Finn leant down and kissed her one more time. "I'll call you later."

"Hey Finn?" Finn turned, one hand on her doorknob. Rachel drew her lip between her teeth as she snuggled back into her pillow with her hands tucked under her head. "Maybe when you call we can talk about living arrangements?"

"Living arrangements?"

With a shrug, Rachel smiled at him shyly. "Our lease is up in two months and Santana and Dani have been talking about moving in together…maybe we can follow their lead."

That famous lopsided grin of his came onto Finn's face and it took him four long strides to reach the bed and hover over her as his mouth covered hers. Her tongue ran over his lips asking for entrance, and he allowed it only for a moment before pulling away and pecking her cheek. "Sounds like a game plan, baby."

Rachel let out a groan when he righted himself and walked back toward the door. She threw herself against the mattress dramatically. "Stupid work!"

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it! I really want this story to reach 400 reviews before it's all said and done and I think there's only about three or four more chapters, so please, please review! I would appreciate it like you don't even know.**

**Do you think the makeup went too smoothly or too soon? Were you satisfied with Finn's justification of why he acted the way he did? Let me know! **

**Finals start up in about three weeks, so I'm hoping to have this completed before then. The new story I have is already written for the most part, so I plan to post that over break while perhaps diving into another full length story. We'll see what happens! **

**Review review review! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter! Y'all are amazing as per usual. Hope you like this next chapter! It's been in the making for awhile now. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Wish I did, though, cause then I wouldn't be suffering through term papers and other BS nonsense that comes along with college. **

* * *

_Travelin' Soldier - Seventeen _

* * *

"How many bedrooms is it?" Rachel inquired, looking around the apartment they were in. Over three weeks had passed since the epic explosion the couple had over Rachel's previous boyfriend, and the two had been pretty solid since. Finn's temper had flared down as the days passed, and he wasn't near as tense as he was when he came home a little more than a month ago.

The two had developed a routine in the past month. It was comfortable. It was peaceful, even, and the couple loved it. The only thing that could be better is if perhaps there was more time together. Finn worked during the day and Rachel at night, so they didn't always have time for each other like they would have liked. Finn would leave for work around six, and he would come back to the apartment about twelve hours later and would be there when Rachel got home from her performance. They went out to dinner every Monday when she didn't have to go to the theater, and she would massage his shoulders every Friday night after she got back from her performance to work out the tension of the workweek.

Not to say they were predictable, but Finn liked the routine they had.

They had seriously sat down and discussed their options and their future. It was a long conversation but they knew that in the end all they wanted was each other. So they decided to take the first step, which is how they found themselves now with the realtor Kurt had suggested to them looking at New York apartments that was a good equal distance between each of their respective workplaces.

"Two bedrooms." The kind middle-aged woman named Anna, responded. "There's also a private laundry room off the kitchen."

"Is there a view?" Finn asked knowingly, and he saw Rachel smile out of the corner of his eye. The older woman's smile faltered a little bit.

"Well it overlooks a few streets…"

Finn smiled kindly, squeezing Rachel's shoulder. "I think we'll keep looking."

* * *

"I don't think we'll ever find one." Rachel groaned, slipping her heeled boots off as she plopped down on the bed. Finn smiled as he took a seat next to her, pulling her feet into his lap as he began rubbing them soothingly. Rachel let out a moan of appreciation at his touch. They had just looked at their sixth apartment in the last two days, and Rachel was beginning to lose hope.

"We'll find something."

"But we've been looking forever!"

Finn let out a small chuckle. "We've been looking for two days, Rach."

Throwing her arms up, Rachel let herself fall back on the bed. "But we have too! My lease runs up in a month!"

"We have plenty of time." He assured her, rubbing up her leg to her thigh and positioning himself over top of her.

"You can't distract me with sex." She warned him, even as she was wrapping her arms around his neck. Finn placed a kiss on her neck, nudging at her hair with his nose. Another kiss was planted at the shell of her ear as his fingers lightly tickled her sides.

"Doesn't hurt to try."

"No," Rachel conceded with a devilish smirk, "I suppose it doesn't."

* * *

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Finn stood in the doorway of his Major's office, waiting for the invitation to come in. The older man looked up from his desk, waving the Sergeant in.

"Have a seat, Sergeant." Finn nodded, taking the offered seat in front of the expensive looking desk.

"I wanted to be the first to say congratulations, Sergeant."

"Congratulations, sir?" Finn asked, more confused than ever.

"On your new orders."

Finn felt his breath catch. "New orders?"

The older gentlemen pushed an envelope toward Finn, who picked it up with shaky hands. Pulling the stack of papers out, the first thing he saw was an application. He recognized it immediately.

"Sir, I filled this out over a year ago."

"I remember." Major Locke nodded. "A week after you turned it into me, we found out about the deployment. It was pushed to the backburner and to be honest with you, Hudson, I forgot about it until I got a phone call last week." Finn's eyebrows shot up in curiosity. "Do you remember your basic training, Sergeant?"

"Of course, sir. I completed it in Georgia."

"There's a new training program that's starting up out in Fort Baker."

"California?"

"Hooah," The senior officer nodded. "I got a phone call from the General out there. We had served together back in desert storm and he's a pretty good friend of mine. He asked if I knew of any NCO's that might be good for a position assisting in training up and comings that has skills and leadership qualities that he would be impressed with. You're the only one that came to mind, Hudson." Major Locke nodded toward the paperwork in Finn's hands. "That application was to go to officer school. California – Fort Baker – has a place there for you. You start on the 15th and there's a new bunch of recruits coming in November. By the time they're graduated, you might just find yourself as a Second Lieutenant, if you play your cards right."

"Sir…" Finn shook his head, not even sure where to begin. "I'm getting out in a year, sir."

"And I've said it before that that's a damn shame. You're an excellent soldier and while I understand you're reasoning for getting out, it don't mean I can't disagree with it." Finn just looked at him with a surprised look. "I got a wife, Hudson. And kids. Luckily, she grew up with a military dad. She's used to this life. Your girl isn't and I can see that staying in the military might cause a strain. But how often do you hear about stuff like this? This is a great opportunity for you, Hudson. You'd get out with benefits. You'd be an officer."

Finn knew that, before Rachel, that was his main goal. That's why he filed the application for officer school, anyway.

"I guess I still don't understand, sir."

"General Adams asked me if I thought you were worth the risk. I said you were, and once I put in a proper letter of recommendation, and once a few strings were pulled, it all just fell into place. You'll be training guys while being trained yourself. It'll be a lot of hard work but I know you can handle it. And in a year, if you still want to get out, well I guess the decision is yours. But these are your orders, Hudson. From the SOA themselves."

"Sir?" Finn couldn't help but hold his breath. Being stationed somewhere else was one thing. Being requested was another. Finn knew the likelihood of this happening ever again was basically zero. He had never heard of it happening before, ever, and the fact that it was happening to him? He was in absolute awe. Moving up the ranks, especially so quickly, wasn't easy and Finn knew that the next year was going to be tough.

"Congratulations, Hudson."

Finn just nodded, shaking the outstretched hand in a daze. "Thank you, sir."

* * *

Finn felt a little like he was running on autopilot when he made his way into the apartment that afternoon. It was only three thirty, so he knew Rachel would still be home, even if only for about another hour or two. He was dreading the conversation that he knew he had to have. It would only be worse the longer he put it off.

"Hey!" Rachel exclaimed when he walked through the door. A big, pleasantly surprised smile etched across her tanned face. "What are you doing home so soon?"

Finn sat his beret and keys down on the side table, slowly sitting down next to her on the couch where she was comfortable lounging with her MacBook perched on her folded knees. Finn noticed with a heavy heart that she was browsing through apartment listings. With a silent sigh, he took the laptop from her and pushed it close. He gently set it down on the coffee table in front of them.

He grabbed Rachel's hands in his and squeezed softly as he met her curious eyes with a solemn look. "We need to talk, Rach."

* * *

"So you leave in three weeks, huh?" Rachel asked quietly. Finn just nodded, and Rachel took a deep breath as everything he just told her processed in her mind. As she thought about it, she found herself nodding with him. "Okay."

Finn's eyes held confusion as he watched her closely. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Rachel continued nodding, "Okay."

"Um…" Finn wasn't sure where to begin with his thoughts. He expected a lot of things from this conversation. He expected her to be upset that they'd be apart again. He expected tears and maybe even yelling. The last emotion he thought his girlfriend would be is calm. He knew she loved him, of course. He had no doubt in his mind that she wanted him. That's why he was so confused. Shouldn't she be, like, freaking out or something?

Rachel couldn't help the love that swelled up in her heart as she took in his lost look. "I know. Calm isn't very Rachel Berry-esque, huh?"

"No." Finn shook his head, still very much confused.

Rachel let out a small giggle under her breath. "I've been on Wicked for almost two years," Rachel began with a squeeze to his hands. "Most leads don't stay with the production for more than a year, at most."

The wheels in Finn's head started turning as his eyebrows furrowed. "What…?"

"I've been thinking about it for awhile." Rachel licked her lips as she continued, finding this conversation easier as it continued on. "Wicked is great and it'll always be the first musical that I really got my start, you know? But I know my time is running up on it. I was going to talk to Joe about maybe looking into someone to replace me, and then call my agent about finding me new auditions. But taking a year off doesn't sound so bad." Rachel took a deep breath, looking Finn in the eye. She couldn't help but smile at the hope she found there. "I've always wondered what living on the West Coast would be like."

"Rachel…" Finn did his best to contain his excitement as her words started making sense to him. "Are you sure that taking a year off is something you want to do?" He had to be sure. He couldn't risk the possibility of resentment.

"If you would have asked me that sometime in the last five years before I met you, then the answer would have easily been no."

"But?" Finn prompted, his lips quirking as his grip on her hands tightened.

"But then I met this wonderful man who completely stole my heart. And if that means that I have to take a leave of absence so that I can be with him because his job is moving him, then I'm okay with that. This opportunity is rare Finn; even I know that. You have to take it."

Finn couldn't find the words. The love he felt for her, and the love he felt emitting _from_ her, was unexplainable. So he did the only reasonable thing to do in that situation. His hands cupped her face and he fused his lips against hers in an earthshattering kiss.

"I love you." He swore against her lips. "I love you so damn much, baby." They were both smiling into the kiss, and Rachel giggled when Finn pushed her down onto her back and climbed on top of her on the couch. The giggle turned into a moan as he pushed his body flush against hers. Even through their clothing the touch was thrilling and enthralling and passionate.

Finn pushed her hair away from her face, staring at her affectionately after they broke the kiss moments later. Her brown eyes stayed connected with his and she interlocked their fingers together.

"Are you sure?" He couldn't help but ask again. Rachel didn't admonish him for his insecurity. She didn't roll her eyes or scoff at his lack of faith in her. She just smiled up at him and nodded.

"Broadway will be here when we get back - but a year without you? I don't think I can do that again."

"Broadway is your home."

Rachel just smiled and ran her fingers through the hair on the side of his head. "You're my home, Finn."

Pressing her lips against his, Rachel committed this moment to memory. She always wanted to remember how she felt. She didn't think she could ever convey just how much he and this relationship meant to her, but she knew that the journey they were about to embark on, together, was a start. And even more so than that, this was what felt _right._

* * *

**Fun Fact: That last scene was one of the first scenes that ever came into my head for this story, so it's been planned for awhile. And don't worry, Rachel isn't giving up Broadway. Not by a long shot. There's a plan for that, too. **

**Let me know what y'all think! Review review review! **

**xx**


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